The Phnom Penh Municipal Hall is assessing a pavement improvement project along Mao Tse Toung Boulevard meant to provide ease of travel for disabled persons and pedestrians, Phnom Penh Municipal Hall spokesman Met Meas Pheakdey told The Post on Wednesday.
Meas Pheakdey said: “The cost of the project will be covered by the municipality. We want to improve the street and provide one that’s safe and convenient for pedestrians, especially to disabled persons apart from promoting the city’s beauty.
“This is not the first time [we’re implementing such a project]. We have [done the same on] the pavements of Russian Boulevard and Norodom Boulevard. We just widened and improved them. The priority, for now, is just the main streets and highways.
“We want to improve many of the existing pavements. We won’t have to widen the streets. Any place for us to walk, we’ll share,” he said.
People’s Centre for Development and Peace president Yong Kim Eng told The Post on Wednesday that the project would be good in reducing traffic congestion and improving people’s health through walking.
“We’ll have pavements that people can walk on. This would be encouraging to people who like to walk and to disabled persons who have trouble travelling. It is important to give them a space to walk on. It is a good thing,” Yong said.
He said the authorities also had to check that the pavements will not be used for purposes other than walking.
Meas Pheakdey said Phnom Penh municipal governor Khuong Sreng had come up with a strategy to maintain pedestrian-friendly streets and prevent others from using the pavements for parking vehicles and displaying goods for sale.
On Thursday, the Phnom Penh Municipal Hall posted on its Facebook page that Sreng had met with Space Media Company to discuss the footbridge construction project.
The company is set to study the project with the Department of Public Works and Transport in Phnom Penh and the Department of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction.
The footbridge will be built at the confluence of Santhor Muk Traffic Light and Mao Tse Toung Boulevard to provide convenience to students crossing and avert possible traffic accidents.
