By Xinyi Li, EDITOR

The “series reports on walkway construction of the Mountain City” has attracted wide attention since its launch. Readers and netizens have left messages to express their feelings about the walkways and put forward opinions and suggestions. The public is actively discussing such heated topics as the overall planning and construction of walkways in the Mountain City and the upgrading of the built ones. According to the Chongqing Municipal Bureau of Planning and Natural Resources, there will be 17 more footpaths in the next 3 to 5 years in Chongqing, with a total length of 353 kilometers.

There will be 17 more footpaths in the next 3 to 5 years in Chongqing, with a total length of 353 kilometers

Bringing more smooth, pleasant, and comfortable feelings

Chongqing will build the walkways around the functions of green travel and public convenience, leisure enjoyment and landscape recreation, culture & memories of old Chongqing, and sightseeing for urban sceneries. Then, the walkways will be important physical carriers to interpret the city’s history, inherit the city’s culture, facilitate citizens’ travel, enrich citizens’ life, and highlight the landscape features.

The riverside walkway in Nanbinlu Road

In the future, citizens will have a better experience when walking on the walkways that have become more smooth, pleasant and comfortable. Moreover, Chongqing is going to plan and upgrade alley walkways, riverside walkways, and mountain walkways. The three types will also be connected, eventually forming a three-dimensional walkway network with crisscrosses in the Mountain City.

A total of 60 planned footpaths with the length of 1,207 kilometers

Luo Jiangfan, Vice President of Chongqing Planning and Design Institute, introduced that, according to a group function and population distribution, Chongqing aimed to integrate the existing planned pedestrian system schemes and connected the footpaths with the natural and human resources. Thus, it will form a walkway system extending to the urban hinterland, with Yuzhong District, the culture center of Chongqing, as the core and the “Two Rivers and Four Riversides”, Zhongliang Mountain, and Tongluo Mountain as the main axes. The system includes 60 walkways with a total length of about 1,207 kilometers.

In the 9 districts of Central Chongqing, there will be 60 walkways, with a total length of about 1,207 kilometers

In the 9 districts of Central Chongqing, there will be 60 walkways, with a total length of about 1,207 kilometers. Chongqing has included 17 walkways into the recent construction planning, with a total length of about 353 kilometers, including 11 alley walkways, 3 riverside ones, and 3 mountain ones.

80% of the walkways will utilize the existing facilities

80% of the 60 walkways will utilize the existing facilities. “We plan to link up the existing footpaths, make their dead ends accessible, and unify the construction standards. For example, the flatness and anti-skid of road surfaces and adding the handrails, railings and other facilities,” said Luo Jiangfan. In the investigation, what the citizens care most about are signs and toilets. With these facilities gradually improving, Chongqing will connect these walkways into networks step by step.

Visitors love to explore old footpaths

In addition, along with the alley walkways, Chongqing will integrate its unique natural landscapes like cliffs, banks, and ravines, as well as urban landscapes like ancient city walls and river-spanning bridges. It is going to construct urban landmarks including towers, buildings, and chimneys, as well as facilities like lookout points and viewing balconies. Besides, Chongqing also aims to create different landscapes at day and night and in four seasons.

Open pedestrian access routes with additional special-line buses

It plans to equip the alley walkways with elevators and escalators and connect them with rail transits and bus stops. For some courier stations of the Hillside Cliff Walkway to be constructed, there will be elevators connected with the public transportation and rail transits, which will be more convenient for the public.

Source: CQCB, Chongqing Daily News