Delineating the Zone Potentiality for Convergent Transit Setting of Rajshahi Railway Station

Abstract

Urbanization is an incessant process involving continuous infrastructural development, ultimately resulting in traffic congestion and an unhealthy transportation system. Rajshahi is home to one of the most convergent traffic routes in the country, and is slowly moving towards a traffic congestion level. This study proposes an integrated GIS approach with five variables aiming to quantify the suitable location of Transit Oriented Development (TOD) to counterpart the convergent traffic with necessary measures by using weighted overlay analysis. Results reveal in a 500 m buffer from the station area, south – eastern quarter showed the highest prospect. Several design principles are recommended in the area for the conversion to walkable neighborhood, and a new route, Auto Rapid Transit (ART) is proposed to ensure connectivity to urban centers. This study will help urban planners and policymakers to understand the necessity and method to evaluate the prospect of a place before implementing a TOD design.

Conclusion

The study summarizes that Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) is a strategy to minimize reliance on automobiles and improve quality of life, which in turn raises the value of real estate implying that TOD goes beyond simply placing transit near densely populated and diverse regions. The proposed TOD location contributes by concentrating urban densities, neighborhoods, and activities within a 5 to 10 minutes walking distance, centering a rail transit station, creating high-quality urban space, and offering easy access to a variety of land uses. To create a more sustainable urban development, TOD combines components of urban design, land use and transportation planning, financing, property price capture, and infrastructure execution. At times, train schedule disruption in Rajshahi Railway Station is observed which becomes boring to intolerable limit of passengers. The TOD study centering the station area will bear the ultimate solution. The passengers can roam around having all the facilities within walking distance. But passengers may feel uncomfortable to roam around for carrying bag and baggage. For this there will be a provision of a counter where passengers can keep their belongings secured following a ticketing system. The new route developed for TOD will be the life saver of the students of Seroil area in Rajshahi which will connect the commercial hub (Shaheb Bazar) and administrative hub (Court Area). All people should have equal access to the advantages offered by study’s TOD facilities and public assets like parks, libraries, and cultural institutions, regardless of their age, income level, race, or ability. This will ensure public ridership program having para transport namely Easy Bikes and Auto Ricksahw where users can choose to become money saver or time saver respectively. New opportunities for neighborhood development having improved air quality as the TOD will ensure limitation of motor- oriented vehicles and encouraging walking. The study indicates that the dependency on private vehicles can be reduced there by promoting public transport (para transport) as the city is in the verge of rising private car ownership. The study will ensure cheaper transport, better livable environment and quality of life. The TOD study excludes bicycle lane because it will not be convenient for the passengers to use bicycle in verge of travelling with bag and baggage but keeping a provision for bicycle rack so that passengers can roam around a bit if there is any train schedule disruption. The results of this study make a substantial contribution to the literature on TOD planning in the context of developing cities. A balanced consensus from many expert viewpoints and perspectives is presented in this paper. As a result, there will be less risk of disagreement and conflict between the experts groups involved in any TOD project. The report also offers planning elements for the TOD strategy using reference example of TOD development in various city locations around the globe. The study took into account the most important and widely used planning and designing factors for TOD which are universally accepted. The study's weights can be applied to growing, extremely congested, mixed-use cities that strive for TOD design. All the benefits and scopes of the study’s TOD design converge towards the Rajshahi Railway Station, creating a vibrant environment. In order to complete our analysis and further develop the study's findings, future research on TOD planning using the suggested methodology will consider the opinions of developers and other stakeholders in the decision-making process. This hybrid approach will use both qualitative and quantitative indicators to evaluate the TOD-ness of a region. The study will further help the urban planners, engineers, architects, and policy makers to convert the study area’s researched location into TOD.

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