Post any news of efforts for pedestrian friendly cities and improvement of sidewalks in Iran.

Shariati St., Tehran - Widened and improved.

http://omrani.tehran.ir/Portals/0/UltraPhotoGallery/514/185/%5B6%5D.05.jpg

http://omrani.tehran.ir/Portals/0/UltraPhotoGallery/514/185/%5B6%5D.06.jpg

http://omrani.tehran.ir/Portals/0/UltraPhotoGallery/514/185/%5B6%5D.04.jpg
http://omrani.tehran.ir/Default.aspx?tabid=23432&AlbumID=54550-949

Valiasr Ave.

http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/8957/g26y.jpg

http://assets.pakwheels.com/forums/2008/11/26/1_EK4_PakWheels%28com%29.jpg

great thread and post

and what are the little speed bumps for? wheel chairs?? LOL

^ I was wondering that too. Does anyone know the purpose of them?

u know what i noticed? the shahrdari is starting to not paint the metal bars and stuff red and green and yellow and blue :)) thats REALLY convincing LOL

^ I was wondering that too. Does anyone know the purpose of them?
I don't know, but I guess it is to prevent motor-cycles to drive on the sidewalks and the speed-bumps are maybe to prevent them go through it...

List of some sidewalks in Tehran being improved

Improvement and connection of sidewalks in district 1
- Chamran Exp. (+ bicycle lane)
- Modares Exp.
- Bahonar St.
- Yemen St.
- Rashidol Din Fazlollah Blvd.
- Beheshti University Sq.
- 21m Darakeh St.
- Moqadas Ardebili St.
- Omaar St.
- Lavasani St.
- Aqdasieh St.
- Sabari St.
- Pour Ebtehaj St.
http://www.hamshahri.net/news.aspx?id=92993
http://www.hamshahri.net/news.aspx?id=107948

Central Tehran
- Khorasan St.
- 15th Khordad St.
- Nazemol Taba St.
- Nasser Khosro St.
- Behesht St.
- Khayyam St.
- Mofateh St.
http://www.hamshahri.net/news.aspx?id=91697

Mofateh street in central Tehran.
http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/4870/sdim0097.jpg
taken by myself.

30th Tir St.
http://omrani.tehran.ir/Portals/0/UltraPhotoGallery/514/167/%5B6%5D.04.jpg

http://omrani.tehran.ir/Portals/0/UltraPhotoGallery/514/167/%5B6%5D.01.jpg

http://omrani.tehran.ir/Portals/0/UltraPhotoGallery/514/167/%5B6%5D.02.jpg
omrani.tehran.ir

i just hope they dont stripe the edge of the streets. if they dont then im fine :) lol

New Pedestrian Projects in the Center of Tehran
December 5th, 2010

Two more streets in center of Tehran will be changed to pedestrian streets. These two are Bab-Homayoon and Naser-Khosro streets in highly busy center of Tehran. According to Zone 12 of the Municipality of Tehran, the project for changing the function of streets will be started soon.

Another part of the city that have both historical value and also a corrupted urban and social problems is Marvi Alley. There are some plans for this old alley too. As the managing director of the Beautification Organization of the Municipality of Tehran says, the regeneration plan of Marvi Alley is being considered. More projects like these could reduce smog holidays.

Sepahsalar Street was the first major street in the center of Tehran that became pedestrian about three years ago. The governmental authorities and the municipality observed a good feedback from the people, who were tired of busy and noisy streets and thousands of cars. Then some other suggestions like the regeneration and pedestrianization plans, which were mentioned, were presented.

These days, the urban travels have been quite hard for the residents of Tehran. The jobs are centralized in the center of the city and that can be great problem for a city of more than 13 million inhabitants. The result is a very populated and polluted city center. Therefore, the people seem happy to walk in pedestrian, newly renovated streets.

Another old street that is a target of the similar projects is 15-Khordad Street, which similar to Bab-Homayoon and Naser-Khosro and a remainder of the nineteenth-century Tehran. The probable extension of these projects can be developing pedestrian belt around the Grand Bazaar of Tehran.


http://www.greenprophet.com/2010/12/new-pedestrian-iran/

If they build more bike-lines, the people will more use bikes instead of cars / taxis and as a result we have less pollution...

pedestrinization is honestly such a good thing, so efficient, and beautiful. nothing adds to the beauty of a city like making stone pathes walking areas

its great to hear this

If they build more bike-lines, the people will more use bikes instead of cars / taxis and as a result we have less pollution...

Tehran's biking culture disappeared after the 1950s with easy access to automobiles and I don't see it coming back anytime soon despite all the efforts to build lanes and provide free bicycles. We're too car dependant right now.

Tehran's biking culture disappeared after the 1950s with easy access to automobiles and I don't see it coming back anytime soon despite all the efforts to build lanes and provide free bicycles. We're too car dependant right now.

true, its hard for that to happen in tehran but maybe smaller cities

^ It actually worked in Esfahan.

Tehran's biking culture disappeared after the 1950s with easy access to automobiles and I don't see it coming back anytime soon despite all the efforts to build lanes and provide free bicycles. We're too car dependant right now.
Yes, unfortunately... . There is a long way to convince the people of using bikes instead of cars.
^ It actually worked in Esfahan.
It's way better than Tehran, but still in a bad situation. Hardly any street has bike-lines, so you have to ride in the street. This is very hard with the traffic problem that Esfahan has. I know many parents not allowing their children to drive their bikes to go to school or somewhere more apart, because they fear they will fall down, because there aren't enough lines and or space for riding bikes. Esfahan is by far better than Tehran, but as said it's simply not good enough.

some projects around tehran
http://shahr.ir/ImgGallery/piyaaa/2.jpg

the red is extra, a grey or white would be better
http://shahr.ir/ImgGallery/piyaaa/4.jpg
red, white, green, looks too childish like these 1960s american burger shops or kids parks
http://shahr.ir/ImgGallery/piyaaa/5.jpg
http://shahr.ir/ImgGallery/piyaaa/10.jpg
http://shahr.ir/ViewPic.aspx?IDG=2264

Tehran Sidewalks to Be Standardized

Since 115 years ago when Tehran Municipality was established, civil operations were under its supervision. Now, for the first time, a directive has been prepared to standardize sidewalks in the capital city which is an extension of Tehran Municipality’s “human-based transportation” policy.

Shahr reported that the directive has been derived from creditable domestic and foreign sources and assessment of more than 200 sidewalks in the capital city and over 22 districts of Tehran.

This method has reduced costs of improving Tehran sidewalks by 20 percent and has paid special attention to value engineering in the city. It gives priority to pedestrians and is hoped to reduce accidents involving pedestrians.

Ja'far Tashakkori Hashemi, deputy mayor for transportation and traffic, says narrow sidewalks made citizens to use major and minor streets for walking. “But Tehran Municipality has taken a new approach in past years to widen sidewalks using quality materials and observing accurate technical and engineering specifications in order to make sidewalks a safer place for citizens.”

He added that human-based transportation is strategic policy of Tehran Municipality in addition to facilitating traffic for visually impaired persons, as well as removing obstacles and steps. The plan also pays attention to traffic load in various streets as well as use of sidewalks by motorcycles.

29/05/2012
[PRINTICON]

http://en.tehran.ir/default.aspx?tabid=77&ArticleId=697

Happy to see Tehran getting closer to a pedestrian friendly city. It's about time.

Indeed, hopefully we can expect something like Tokyo, top-class public transport and many non-vehicle zones like Shibuya Crossing.

couples thoughts came to mind, what are they going to do with the canals and are the streets going to end up cramped like london?

couples thoughts came to mind, what are they going to do with the canals and are the streets going to end up cramped like london?

I think they'll go with the same approach they had for Valiasr St.'s sidewalks, as seen here:
http://i.imgur.com/xOw3r.jpg
Source: Own Work

Ahh Shahpoor those were the days! I remember when Vali-asr was like that!

I took the photo last year, along Saei Park... has it altered now?

couples thoughts came to mind, what are they going to do with the canals and are the streets going to end up cramped like london?

some parts of central tehran dont have canals, and for the parts that do , i hope they dont cover them

Shapoor, the place hasn't changed that much, just the photo looks reminiscent of those 1950's Tehran ones for some odd reason, but great photography none the less.

Parts of Valiasr Street's (Tehran) sidewalks are being replaced again due to wear and cracks. As you can see in the image the stones need replacement:
http://i.imgur.com/xlh0i.jpg
Source: myself

Also a short update on Tehran sidewalks and standardization:
Efforts have been made since the past few years for standardization of sidewalks in Tehran and the measure is currently under implementation. Making passages appropriate for transportation of the disabled is among plans that are being pursued in this field.

Accordingly to Shahrnevesht, proper directives for appropriation of passages in the city were approved in the calendar year 1374 (1995-96) but up to the year 1383 (2004-2005) and approval of the comprehensive law on support for the rights of the disabled no proper measure was taken. Although the directive was not welcomed that much for different reasons, however Tehran Municipality in recent years has put appropriation of urban passages and places high on its agenda. According to new plans, construction of parks, stadiums, sidewalks and street entries is being implemented.

According to Shahrnevesht, Shapour Divsalar, Technical and Urban Projects Deputy of Tehran Beautification Organization said: “Vali-e Asr, Enqelab, 17th Shahrivar, Jomhouri Eslami, Ferdowsi, Mowlavi and … are among avenues where sidewalks have been improved for all strata of the people, including the disabled. Also, the Marvi market, Safa sidewalk, Baradaran Mozaffar Street, Naser Khosrow, Bab-e Homayoun, Sour-e Esrafil, Hassanabad Square and 15th Khordad are among places which have been completely turned into sidewalks and motor traffic is prohibited there.

He also assured that all the operations are in accordance with world standards and the materials used are in conformity with the standards as well. For example, he said, Vali-e Asr Avenue has obtained all the modern standards.

27/06/2012
http://en.tehran.ir/default.aspx?tabid=77&ArticleId=748

^^ so stupid in my opinion, its alright if they have some cracks, no need to spend all that money (god knows how much budget they get and spend it for themselves) for such a small thing for now when so much of the city needs work, if these guys care so much about small cracks they should care about the rest of the city especially the north and its gardens, the south , the centre and its historic core, the business areas the traffic the city ......

this is a very silly and cover up type of act in my opinion

You haven't seen the sidewalks in real life... Some stones are missing and you'd easily trip if you're not careful. The condition is really bad for a major city street.

if its like that then its good

i though there are tiny cracks and small chips which really have no effect

The rainfall of the last 2 days caused even more damage to the sidewalks and water canals
http://www.mehrnews.com/mehr_media/image/2012/07/824371_orig.jpg

Full photo report here: http://www.mehrnews.com/fa/newsdetail.aspx?NewsID=1651252

The rainfall of the last 2 days caused even more damage to the sidewalks and water canals

Full photo report here: http://www.mehrnews.com/fa/newsdetail.aspx?NewsID=1651252

its obvious they use the most garbage quality products, shame on them

The earth beneath the street became empty hence the fall and shifting. Will Iranians ever stop pointing and blaming, being experts in the field of speculation? P.S. it doesn't matter anyway, the stones were going to be replaced either way.

The earth beneath the street became empty hence the fall and shifting. Will Iranians ever stop pointing and blaming, being experts in the field of speculation? P.S. it doesn't matter anyway, the stones were going to be replaced either way.

i was ignorant , apologies

but was the earth dug out priviously? even in that case they should make sure the ground is secure when they are doing such projects, whats if a person collapsed along with it? they could get seriously injured

No worries.

Vunerable soil and rapid rainfall don't mix well together, in addition here's a map of underground watercanals in Tehran, quite a few pass under Valiasr: http://cdn.greenprophet.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/quanat-Tehran.jpg