Study on making Patan Durbar Square a pedestrian and cycle friendly area

Patan Durbar Square with narrow streets of old settlements of Lalitpur where road expansion is not possible either, locals are facing the problem of congestion and pollution due to vehicles. The streets in this heritage site are widely used by tourists, pilgrims, school-going children, and the elderly, and there is conflict between pedestrians and vehicles. In addition, parking is a major issue in this area. The suggested heritage site should have been pedestrianized as per various reports and definitely, the environment looks better without the disturbances and sound pollution of motorized vehicles.

Restricting vehicles has been seen as one of the major solutions for traffic management and to improve the living standard of the people living in the area, however before any radical change alternative solutions for the vehicles and proper planning is required therefore this study is being carried out to promote walking and cycling and for implementation of pedestrian and cycle friendly zone in Patan Durbar Square area.

The main objective of the study is to propose different options to make the UNESCO World Heritage site – Patan Durbar Square, a pedestrian and cycle-friendly area. 

The specific objectives of the study are,

  1. To envision/plan the traffic flow that will help to enhance walkability and cycling. 
  2. To propose the location of parking (Two-wheeler and Four-Wheeler) to minimize noise and air pollution around Durbar Square      
  3. To propose street furniture/cycle stand at Durbar Square and around it
  4. To propose different intervention/tactical urbanism steps for the project implementation
  5. To identify community issues and opportunities and propose recommendations accordingly