COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT as well as to other states like Maharashtra and Goa. The area also has a large wholesale vegetable market that functions out of the urban village. The participant group for this workshop was comprised of academicians, students and practitioners. The site was explained through a film and photographs of the area. The discussions were conclusive and specific to the issues. The participants were given maps and stationery to be able to communicate and articulate their ideas. The big issue here was that of providing connectivity across the barriers created by the railway tracks and the lack of pedestrian infrastructure in the network of streets in the area. This led to some safety and security issues as well. The participants debated possible solutions to enhance pedestrian connectivity between the transit stations such as underpasses. Safety for women passengers was flagged as an issue by some participants along with solutions ranging from CCTV cameras to eyes on the street. The third iteration of the SAM interactive workshop was held in September 2015 at the Kochi Metro Rail
Presentation of proposals.
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Ltd. office in Kochi, Kerala. The focus of this iteration was to understand the principles of the SAM and then engage actual stakeholders such as planning agencies, representatives of metro rail, traffic police, public and private bus operators and employees of businesses and institutions located near the station area to collaboratively prioritize and propose solutions. The site that was chosen was around the ‘under construction’ metro stations of Kaloor and Lissie. These stations were chosen for their proximity to the central city areas as well as the fact that they are both located close to other transit nodes- a bus station near Kaloor metro station and a commuter rail station near Lissie metro station. The Kaloor bus station is a regional and city-level bus station. The Ernakulam Town station adjacent to the proposed Lissie Metro station is a regional rail station that brings in commuters from the northern reaches of the Greater Kochi region. The issue in both cases is narrow, congested approach roads prone to traffic jams and very poor infrastructure for pedestrians. This is particularly exacerbated because there are many