1. << CHAPTER 8 < CONTENTS >
District Spatial Plan - Thrissur CONNECTIVITY 129
Chapter – 9
CONNECTIVITY
9.1 DESCRIPTION OF HIERARCHY OF SETTLEMENTS ments. In general there is one first order settlement, 5
As per the settlement analysis, it is found that second order settlements and 7 third order settlements
the settlements in the District can be grouped in to four in the District as shown in figure 9.1.
hierarchies. The future hierarchy of settlement of the
9.2 DESCRIPTION OF HIERARCHY OF NODES
district evolved shows that Thrissur Municipal Corpo-
ration is the highest order settlement in the District. The hierarchy of a node is indicated by the ex-
Chalakkudy Municipal Council, Irinjalakkuda Municipal tent of activity taking place in the node. The study of
Council, Kunnamkulam Municipal Council are the ex- hierarchy of node shows that, obviously Thrissur round
isting and Chelakkara and Mattathur are the proposed and surrounding area is the 1st order node of the Dis-
second order settlements. Kodungallur Municipal Coun- trict acting as a commercial centre serving the entire
cil, Guruvayur Municipal Council and Grama Panchayats District. Based on the service area of the existing sec-
of Alagappanagar, Pananchery, Venkitangu, Valappad ond order nodes, nine extra nodes are proposed as sec-
and Wadakkanchery are the proposed third order settle- ond order for serving the entire area effectively by con-
Fig: 9.1: Suggested hierarchy of settlements
Department of Town & Country Planning, Kerala
2. 130 CONNECTIVITY District Spatial Plan - Thrissur
sidering population distribution, centrality and exist- National Highways provide inter-state and inter-
ing status. Similarly based on the service area of the district connectivity. It is proposed to upgrade the stan-
existing third order nodes, ten extra nodes are pro- dards of National Highways to meet future require-
posed as third order nodes for serving the entire area ments by providing a Right of Way of 45 meters, with 4-
effectively by considering population distribution, cen- line carriage way of 3.75 meters wide lanes and service
trality and existing status of the nodes. Finally there roads of 3.75 meters each.
are 20 suggested second order nodes and 43 suggested The existing National Highways in the district are:
third order nodes. The suggested hierarchy of nodes is
1. 60 Km. of Kanyakumari – Salem NH-47
shown in fig 9.2.
from Vaniyampara to Karukutty
Fig: 9.2: Suggested hierarchy of nodes
9.3 EXISTING NETWORK 2. 64.562 Km. NH- 17 from Palapetty to
The roads in Thrissur district are considered as Moothakunnam and kodungallur Bye-Pass 3.75 Km.
the main connecting link between northern and south- Under NHAI, Fourlaning of NH-47 from Mannuthy to
ern part of state. In most of traffic junctions the avail- Karukutty is in progress and will be completed by 2011.
able road space is encroached upon for non transport Fourlaning of balance portion in the district from
purposes. The major roads in Thrissur were former foot Mannuthy to Vaniyampara is being taken up by NHAI.
paths. Only a few roads were properly designed. Due Also Alignment of Fourlaning of NH-17 from
to limited resources and land availability for develop- Kottappuram to Chettuva has been approved by NHAI
ment, proper road standards is not still attained. Im- and land acquisition is in progress.
provement to road project planning and designing are Thrissur Junction is one of busiest and important
essential to provide efficient road network system. Fig railway junctions in South India, connecting Thrissur city
9.3 shows the existing road network system. with the rest of Kerala and India. It lies in the Shoranur-
Department of Town & Country Planning, Kerala
3. District Spatial Plan - Thrissur CONNECTIVITY 131
Fig: 9.3: Existing road network
Cochin Harbour section of Trivandrum division. Thrissur 9.4 SUGGESTED NETWORK
Railway Station is operated by the Chennai-headquar- The road net work should connect the higher or-
tered Southern Railways of the Indian Railways. The der settlements and nodes. Figure 9.4 shows the sug-
railway station of Thrissur lies on the main railway line gested hierarchy of nodes and settlements together
that connects Kerala with the rest of India. Hence, with existing major road network. From the figure, it is
Thrissur Railway Station is an important gateway to clear that most of the suggested 1st, 2nd order nodes
Kerala. It is the halting point of all express, long dis- and suggested 1st, 2nd and 3rd order settlements are well
tance and local trains and have three platforms. The connected by already existing NH, SH and other district
station is located in the heart of the Thrissur city and road.
handles over 20,000 passengers daily.
Conceptual road network is prepared based on
Thrissur has a well maintained network of rail- the existing and proposed hierarchy of settlements.
way tracks that connects the place to all parts of India
with much ease and convenience. As an important rail- The analysis of the above map clearly reveals the
way station of the Southern Railways network, Thrissur following facts.
is one of the important halting stops for any train pass- 1. The entire district depends upon the
ing through the region. The local trains of Thrissur which monocentric single first order settlement ie, Thrissur
pass through this station cater to the local population Municipal Corporation for higher order facilities.
who prefer to travel by train from one city to another.
2. Considering the service area of the first order
Regular train services are there to Cochin and Palakkad
settlement, Thrissur Municipal Corporation shows the
are available from here. Thrissur also has a suburban
clear primacy.
station at Punkunnam and Ollur, but only local passen-
ger trains and a few express trains stops here. 3. As far as the linkage between the first order
settlement and second order settlement is concerned,
Department of Town & Country Planning, Kerala
4. 132 CONNECTIVITY District Spatial Plan - Thrissur
Map Generated for IDDP
by TCPD, Thrissur Unit
Fig: 9.4: Suggested hierarchies of nodes and settlements along with existing road network
there is already exist a radial pattern of roads which nario where perfect urban – rural continuum exist,
support the planning concept of road network for a nodes plays a crucial role in the transportation network.
settlement which is centrally located. Hence it is highly essential to modify the proposed road
network based on proposed hierarchy of nodes. So
Incorporating the spatial distribution of settle-
modification of proposed road network based on the
ment in the District, the following conceptual road net-
hierarchy of nodes is necessary.
work can be suggested. And it is shown in fig.9.5
Based on the hierarchy of nodes, Thrissur Round
Conceptual road network contains mainly five
becomes the first order node. And based on the servic-
types of proposed roads. They are as follows.
ing area of the existing second order nodes, nine extra
1. Ring Road nodes are proposed as second order for serving the
2. Radial Roads (1st order Road) – Connecting 1st entire area effectively by considering population dis-
order settlement with second order settlement. tribution, centrality and existing status of the nodes
which is described above. Similarly based on the ser-
3. Loop Roads (2nd order Road) - Connecting all
vicing area of the existing third order nodes, ten extra
2nd order settlements
nodes are proposed as third order for serving the en-
4. Road connecting loop road and 3rd order tire area effectively by considering population distri-
settlement (3rd order road) bution, centrality and existing status of the nodes which
5. By Pass Roads is described above.
By superimposing the suggested conceptual road
9.5 FUTURE CONNECTIVITY
network with the proposed hierarchy of nodes, it is
Transportation always depends upon the posi- found that most of the proposed and existing 1st, 2nd, 3rd
tion of nodes and the rank of the nodes. In Kerala sce- order nodes are already incorporated in the proposed
Department of Town & Country Planning, Kerala
5. District Spatial Plan - Thrissur CONNECTIVITY 133
Fig: 9.5 Suggested Conceptual Road Network based on hierarchy of settlements
Fig: 9.6: Future connectivity
Department of Town & Country Planning, Kerala
6. 134 CONNECTIVITY District Spatial Plan - Thrissur
road network and all other proposed and existing 1st , pass are changed by considering the hierarchy of nodes
2nd and 3rd order nodes are well connected by already in the modified road network. Hence there is not much
existing NH, SH and other district road. difference in the proposed conceptual road network.
And it is shown in fig.9.6.
Modified proposed road network contains mainly
five types of proposed roads. They are as follows.
9.6 INFERENCE
1. Ring Road around Thrissur Municipal Corpora-
tion Conceptual road network based on hierarchy of
settlement has been derived and superimposed over
2. Radial Roads (1st order Road) – Connecting 1st
the existing transportation network to derive the pro-
order settlement with second order settlement.
posed road network. The proposed road network is
3. Ring Road connecting second orders. modified based on the spatial distribution of hierarchy
4. Road connecting ring road with other major of nodes. The proposed transportation network
nodes. emerged out from the study consist of 1st order radial
roads with second order loop roads which support and
5. By Pass Roads.
justify the transportation planning concept for a
Some routes of radial roads, loop roads and by- monocentric region.
Department of Town & Country Planning, Kerala
< CONTENTS > CHAPTER 10 >>