TRANSPORT STRATEGY FOR THE DEVELOPMENT … urban center in the country and has been the Primate City in Sri Lanka for several ... Transport Strategy for the Development of Colombo

TRANSPORT STRATEGY FOR THE

DEVELOPMENT OF COLOMBO CITY

Amal S Kumarage

and

Achala Nanayakkkara

Urban Development Authority

NOVEMBER 2001

Transport Strategy for the Development of Colombo City Amal S. Kumarage

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1 : INTRODUCTION __________________________________________ 1-1

1.1 Terms Of Reference _______________________________________________ 1-1

1.2 Study Area _______________________________________________________ 1-1

1.3 Study Team ______________________________________________________ 1-2

1.4 Acknowledgements _______________________________________________ 1-2

CHAPTER 2 : BACKGROUND ___________________________________________ 2-1

2.1 The Present Transport Network ______________________________________ 2-3

2.1.1 Railway Network _______________________________________________ 2-3

2.1.2 Highway Network _______________________________________________ 2-3

2.1.3 Bus Network ___________________________________________________ 2-4

2.1.4 Bus Terminals and Railway Stations ________________________________ 2-5

2.2 Colombo Metropolitan Regional Structure Plan (CMRSP) ________________ 2-7

2.3 Colombo Urban Transport Study Stage–2 (CUTS-2) _____________________ 2-9

2.3.1 Vehicle Ownership ______________________________________________ 2-9

2.3.2 Public Transport _______________________________________________ 2-11

2.3.3 New Public Transit Systems _____________________________________ 2-11

2.3.4 Road Development ____________________________________________ 2-12

2.4 Nature of the Present Transport Demand _____________________________ 2-12

2.4.1 Growth in Travel on Radial Corridors _______________________________ 2-12

2.4.2 Growth of Orbital Traffic Patterns__________________________________ 2-14

2.4.3 Traffic Circulation within the City __________________________________ 2-16

2.5 On-Going Development Projects ____________________________________ 2-16

2.5.1 Urban Development Authority ____________________________________ 2-16

2.5.2 Road Development Authority _____________________________________ 2-17

CHAPTER 3 : PRESENT ISSUES ________________________________________ 3-1

3.1 Urban Sprawl _____________________________________________________ 3-2

3.2 Development and Increased Activity along the Corridors ________________ 3-3

3.3 Deterioration of Public Transport ____________________________________ 3-3

3.4 A Mode of Public Transport for circulation within Colombo ______________ 3-4

3.5 Disappearing Bus Terminals and Interchange Facilities _________________ 3-5

3.6 Inappropriate Bus Routing __________________________________________ 3-6


3.7 Heavy Traffic Circulation around the Beira Lake ________________________ 3-7

3.8 Traffic Management Strategy ________________________________________ 3-8

CHAPTER 4 : INTERVENTIONS & DEVELOPMENT OPTIONS ________________ 4-1

4.1 Question # 1 ______________________________________________________ 4-1

4.2 Question #2 ______________________________________________________ 4-2

4.3 Question # 3 ______________________________________________________ 4-3

CHAPTER 5 : RECOMMENDATIONS _____________________________________ 5-5

5.1 Policy ___________________________________________________________ 5-5

5.2 Strategy _________________________________________________________ 5-5

5.3 Specific Projects/Actions ___________________________________________ 5-6

5.3.1 Set Up a Hierarchy of New Public Transport Terminals and Interchanges within

the City and its Suburbs _________________________________________________ 5-6

5.3.2 New Road Links, Particularly Baseline Road Extension to Ratmalana _____ 5-17

5.3.3 Revise Bus Routes to suit the new Transport Terminal Arrangement and Areas

Identified for Growth ___________________________________________________ 5-20

5.3.4 Development of a LRT System ___________________________________ 5-23

5.3.5 Improvements to the Railway Services, particularly its Quality and Capacity 5-24

5.3.6 Measures to Improve Traffic Management, including Uni-Directional Systems and

Parking Arrangements _________________________________________________ 5-27

5.3.7 Identification of areas for future Land-Use Development in the City of Colombo 5-

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 2.1: Status of Public Terminals and Intermodal Linkages within Colombo City ______ 2-6

Table 2.2:Critical Parameters Determining Sustainable Vehicle Ownership in CMR ______ 2-10

Table 2.3: Daily Passengers in Both Directions at the CMC Boundary (1965-95) __________ 2-13

Table 2.4: Passenger Capacity by Corridor and Mode of Transport ____________________ 2-15

Table 2.5: Anticipated Growth Rates for Orbital Routes. _____________________________ 2-15

Table 5.1: Hierarchy of Public Transport Interchanges ______________________________ 5-12


LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1.1: Study Area & Extended Study Area _____________________________________ 1-3

Figure 3.1: Existing Traffic Circles in CBD and Congestion at Intersections ______________ 3-9

Figure 5.1: Schematic Diagram of the Ranking of Public Transport Interchanges __________ 5-8

Figure 5.2: Hierarchy of Public Transport Interchanges _____________________________ 5-13

Figure 5.3: New Road Links Proposed ____________________________________________ 5-17

Figure 5.4: Baseline Road Extension and Transport Integration _______________________ 5-18

Figure 5.5: Bus Routing Arrangement for Radial-Orbital Overlapping _________________ 5-20

Figure 5.6: Bus Routing through Pettah ___________________________________________ 5-22

Figure 5.7: Proposed System of LRT _____________________________________________ 5-25

Figure 5.8: Rail Improvements in CBD ___________________________________________ 5-26

Figure 5.9 : Traffic Flow in CBD_________________________________________________ 5-30

Figure 5.10: Traffic Flow to/from CBD ___________________________________________ 5-31

Figure 5.11: Areas Identified for Development within the CBD (by UDA) _______________ 5-32

Figure 5.12: Areas Recommended for Future Development ___________________________ 5-35


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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Colombo City as defined by the municipal city limits is 4,020 hectares in extent. It is the

largest urban center in the country and has been the Primate City in Sri Lanka for several

centuries. It occupies a dominant position in terms of commercial, administrative and service

functions in the country. This position has evolved over many years but particularly after the

development of a ‘radially-oriented’ transport system centered on Colombo City.

This hub and spoke type transport system which began with the construction of the railways

in the late 1800s was further strengthened with the development of the trunk road system in

the early 1900s. The latter in particular has resulted in the rapid growth of employment within

Colombo City, particularly in proximity to the transport hub at Fort and Pettah, with the

supporting residential areas spreading out in a radial manner to the suburbs. With growing

employment in the city, the residential sprawl can now be seen radiating even up to

distances of 40 kms from the City Center.

Colombo City has an estimated resident population of 675,000. Though accurate counts are

not available, an estimated 600,000 jobs are available within the city. In comparison to

which, there are at present nearly one million people entering the city on a typical weekday.

These people use the nine road corridors and the four rail corridors for the purpose of

commuting to and from the city. Presently, the railway carries 10% of this traffic, while

buses carry 57% of the people. Private vehicles including taxis, three wheelers and

chartered vans account for the balance 33%. Most recent transport studies have pointed out

that during the peak period, all road corridors are filled to capacity and travel speeds over a

20-km radius from the center average (over the different roads) around 15 kms per hour. In

the 10-km radius from the center, the average falls further to around 12 kms per hour. While

rail speeds during peak periods are significantly higher averaging double the road speeds in

this area, track capacities and non-availability of rolling stock pose restriction on both the

speed and volume of traffic that can be carried by the railway.

The nine road corridors attract nearly 150,000 private vehicles into the city. These vehicles

and the 250,000 private vehicles registered within the city have to also share the road

network within the city. The rapid increase in the fleet of private vehicles and the resulting

growth in the number of people who have moved from public to private modes of transport

have been the single most contributory factor to increasing traffic congestion on the corridors

as well as within the city in recent years.

The rate at which land for new roads or for road widening can be acquired, will clearly slow

down in the future as land becomes scarce and environmental concerns are highlighted as

has happened in many cities elsewhere in the world. On the other hand, the highest growth


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rate in the demand for owning private vehicles is to be expected over the next 10 to 20 years

in the Colombo Metropolitan Region. Thus the clear indication is that the road network will

increasingly become congested over time. However, unacceptable travel delays and

associated costs resulting from this will eventually lead to a gradual migration of employment

and commercial activities away from the CBD areas of the city. Thus increasing use of the

private vehicle in the future will eventually lead to less employment and less activity within

Colombo City. The consequences of such a situation can even lead to a collapse of the

urban core and disperse activities located in the core areas across an entire region, thus

increasing the burden of servicing a much wider and less concentrated area.

Another noteworthy feature in the present transport system is the centrality of Pettah in

public transport service operations. Even though administrative centers have relocated to

Kotte MC areas and new employment areas have opened up away from the traditional

centers of Fort and Pettah in recent years, public transport services have not adjusted

adequately over time. For instance, of the 15,000 bus trips made in to the city daily, still

nearly 60% either terminate or pass through Pettah. All train operations are also routed

through the Fort station at Pettah.

The recommendations of this study are set out in this Chapter 5. They are designed to

address the issues raised in Chapter 3 and the rationale and strategy set out through the

dissuasions in Chapter 4. The recommendations are set out under the headings of (a)

policy, (b) strategy and (c) programs required achieving the desired objectives. This

approach is intended to convey the need to address these issues at all levels of planning,

preparation and decision making.


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POLICY

The specific policy recommendations made under this study with respect to the further

development of Colombo City are:

1. To rationalize further land development within Colombo City after ensuring that the

balance between development and transport capacity is maintained.

2. To intervene in the provision of new transport infrastructure and to re-plan existing

services and public transport terminals to account for the recent changes that have

occurred in the development of Colombo City and also to encourage urban development

planned for the future.


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STRATEGY

The strategic recommendations following the above policies are as follows:

(1) To rationalize the re-development of State owned lands made vacant with the relocation

of the defense establishments and the wholesale market so that a balance can be

maintained between land development and transport infrastructure and service provision.

Such balance should take into consideration the entire city in general and the specific

areas (such as the CBD) in particular. This would follows overall guidelines for the city

development and provide for the following.

(a) Relocating all activities that have little contribution to, or integration with, activities

that are aimed at promoting the CBD as the financial center of Colombo.

(b) Making part or all of such lands available for relocating on-street parking, LRT

systems, dedicated bus lanes and providing pedestrian facilities in areas where

existing road space is inadequate to provide for the transport requirements.

(c) Where land is not required for additional transport provision, by making more land

available for residential purposes.

(d) To provide for further commercial developments only in areas where exiting transport

needs can be met satisfactorily and also the needs resulting from such developments

can be met and sustained over the long-term.

(2) To decentralize the public transport transfer function presently focused on Pettah to

another three locations due north-east, east and south-east of the city respectively, so

that the CBD ceases to be the only major transfer location for public transport in

Colombo. The long-distance and local bus services should then be re-routed so that the

centralized transfer function which presently puts tremendous pressure on the CBD area,

is decentralized at least in part to the peripheral areas. Thus the city would be serviced

from the periphery as well as from the center, thereby reducing the need for transfers,

reducing travel times, and most importantly reducing the number of buses entering,

terminating and parking in the CBD area.

(3) To develop a set of public transport terminals and interchanges with the rail stations (a)

on the periphery of the city and (b) in suburban areas. Buses could then be re-routed

between these new termini, so that they pass through the city without terminating and

thereby avoid the blight of parked buses spread all over the city.

(4) To develop a major north-south transport artery with a number of inter-modal transfer

locations so that

(a) There is a good by-pass road avoiding the city and CBD areas for traffic that does

not need to enter the city.


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(b) Public Transport services can use this artery as a major corridor and serve the city

from the periphery of the city inwards, and along which the new transport terminals

can be located and

(c) There is a transport artery that can distribute traffic eastwards to the City of Colombo

and westwards to the administrative area of Kotte.


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SPECIFIC PROJECTS/ACTIONS

The following Specific Actions and Projects are recommended following the strategies listed

above:

PROJECT #1: SET UP A HIERARCHY OF NEW PUBLIC TRANSPORT TERMINALS/

INTERCHANGES WITHIN THE CITY AND SUBURBS

Under this proposal, the functions of the present transport interchange at Pettah would be

de-centralized to three new termini for long distance buses and a hierarchy of smaller termini

and public transport interchanges. So that the need for buses to terminate at the city center

and for transferring there would reduce considerably. This will significantly reduce the

present congestion caused by all bus services hubbing at Pettah’.

Terminals within Colombo City

The Pettah terminal should be moved closer to Fort and form a single interchange, if

required on two levels. This we will call Fort-Pettah. This will ease much pedestrian traffic

across Olcott Mawatha and throughout Pettah area.

The Dematagoda terminal can be built on land adjacent to the railway station and a

reasonably good access is available through the old Baseline Road below the overpass at

this point. There are center median openings for U-turns as well as the width of the center

median below the bridge can also accommodate some terminal facilities as well.

The Narahenpita terminal can either be constructed (a) adjacent to the existing railway

station after the relocation of the informal settlements that are to be found in the vicinity or

(b) as a new railway cum bus terminal adjacent to the Nawala Road (where the rail crossing

is available, perhaps with an overpass like Dematagoda to avoid the problems of queuing

due to longer gate closures close to stations). The bus terminals presently located next to

the Labour Secretariat and also on-Baseline Road need to be brought here.

The terminal at Borella may be located adjacent to the Cotta Road Railway Station.

However, this may be difficult as, the land is occupied by commercial and residential

buildings. Thus, a better location would be adjacent to the Parliament Road near the

Welikada railway crossing. Here too an overpass can be built and the terminal that can

accommodate both buses and provide a railway station can be built. Land can be made

available as informal settlements and State lands are most predominant here.

The Grandpass terminal can be located on land that could be made available with the

resettlement of informal housing in that vicinity, while in the case of Pamankade, the former

GOBU of Wellawatte Spinning & Weaving Mills site is a most suitable location. The latter site

can generate access from Galle Road (either through High Street Wellawatte or through an


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extension along the Canal of Dharmarama Road (opposite Savoy Cinema) and it is after the

point of merger of both the Horana Road and High Level Road. This 14-acre site though

handed over to the BOI for mixed development should be reconsidered, so that at least a

part of it is developed as a bus Terminal. The UDA in 1997 has made a conceptual plan for

developing this site as a bus terminal for operating a Park and Ride as well.

Terminal Points on the Periphery of the City

Adequate land could be found at Kelaniya, Battaramulla and Kotikawatte for setting up

altogether new transfer locations adjacent to the existing railway stations. However in the

case of Nugegoda and Dehiwela, there are presently bus terminals already located

alongside railway stations. However in both these cases, the bus terminals could be further

developed and perhaps integrated in to a single building incorporating the railway station, so

that more bus platforms could be provided.

Terminal Points Outside the Periphery of the City

These would be major turn around terminals and would generally require a fairly large extent

of land for parking and waiting etc. Thus new land should be taken over for this purpose.

These terminals would be the terminal bus routes such as Ragama to Ratmalana or

Dehiwela to Kadawatha or Grandpass to Pannipitiya routes. These would essentially be

cross-town routes where the terminal outside the city would provide the facilities for waiting

and parking. The recommended locations are Ragama, Pannipitiya, Ratmalana,

Kadawatha, Kaduwela, Athurugiriya and Borelesgamuwa.

PROJECT #2: NEW ROAD LINKS, PARTICULARLY BASELINE ROAD EXTENSION TO

RATMALANA

The most important linkage required for this new transport hierarchy is a high quality north-

south link between Kelaniya and Ratmalana. The RDA in the form of the Baseline Road

extension has proposed this, but which has now run in to protest over land acquisition. This

linkage should be pursued with all vigor as it provides the spinal chord to serve Colombo

City from its eastern periphery. It will also serve the two most adjacent and key suburbs of

Colombo namely the Sri-Jayawardenapura-Kotte MC and the Dehiwela-Mt Lavinia MC that it

will border. As shown in the figure, it is this road that will provide the locations for the many

points of interchange for public transport and its absence will drastically affect the proposed

strategy and constrain the growth of the entire region. The proposed new links are indicated

in the Figure I and II and are outlined as follows:

(a) Completion of the Base Line Road up to Ratmalana

(b) Link connecting T. B. Jayah Mawatha and Vauxhall Street


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(c) Additional Link near Lake House Building connecting Olcott Mawatha and D.R.

Wijewardena Mawatha over the railway line

(d) Overpass or Underpass near the Slave Island Railway Station

(e) Link from Slave Island Railway Station to Olcott Mawatha across the Beira Lake

and the Main Railway Line

(f) Development of Pradeepa Mawatha as a Six Lane East-West Artery:

(g) Widening of Stace Road:

(h) Widening of Park Road and Redesigning intersection with Havelock Road

(i) Link between Baladaksha Mawatha and Lotus Road.

PROJECT #3: REVISE BUS ROUTES TO SUIT THE NEW TRANSPORT TERMINAL

ARRANGEMENT AND AREAS IDENTIFIED FOR GROWTH

Presently, much of the congestion in the city center arises out of a large number of buses

terminating and parking at the city center. Under the proposed hierarchy of terminals and

transfers, only a fraction of these services need to terminate at the center as most services

including some long-distance buses can either run through Pettah or terminate at Peripheral

Terminals. The re-routing of local bus services through these termini will lead to a reduction

of travel that is presently made through the city center only for the purpose of transfer.

PROJECT #4: DEVELOPMENT OF A LRT SYSTEM

The LRT or Tram system will provide sustainability for the strategy in the long-term. In this

respect, even though this is an expensive project, it can be built up in stages. The primary

function of this system would be to attract the car user to a high-quality public transport

mode. The routes that have been identified for the LRT in CUTS 2, provide a good

arrangement of collector-distributor features between the radial corridors and different parts

in the city. It is also integrated with the bus and railways to the fullest extent possible.


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PROJECT #5: IMPROVEMENTS TO THE RAILWAY SERVICES, PARTICULARLY ITS

QUALITY AND CAPACITY

The railway will be increasingly required to provide a fast commuting link between residential

areas and employment centers. It is even presently well located for this purpose. But

improvements in service provision in the form of higher capacity (both track and rolling

stock), reliability and good interchange with bus (and LRT in the future) would be necessary.

A new link to form a radial in the eastern direction to serve the Rajagiriya, Kotte and

Pelawatte areas seems viable. Upgrading the Secretariat Halt and introducing a new halt

between Fort and Maradana may be necessary.

PROJECT #6: MEASURES TO IMPROVE TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT, INCLUDING UNI-

DIRECTIONAL SYSTEMS AND PARKING ARRANGEMENTS

Traffic Management is a favored approach in many cities world-wide as opposed to attempts

to build new roads or widen existing roads. This proposal entails the revision of traffic flows

particularly on a uni-directional that would reduce conflicts at intersections. This is a

preferred option in a city where interchanges (fly-overs) are not compatible with the

landscape. It also means the reduction of on-street parking and the re-design of roads and

intersections in the city center to allow a smoother flow of vehicles at a moderate speed. It

would also include the construction of missing links in the road network such as a connection

over the Beira (Figure II). This link in particular will have a significant impact as the present

traffic congestion is dominant around the four corners of the Beira Lake and a through route

will relieve areas such as Town Hall, Slave Island, Maradana and Lake House Roundabout

of traffic congestion.

PROJECT #7: IDENTIFICATION OF AREAS FOR FUTURE LAND-USE DEVELOPMENT

IN THE CITY OF COLOMBO

Within the Colombo Business District, it is possible to identify several locations for further

land use development. The level and the type of development that is suitable for these

locations will depend on various factors such as the present land use pattern, close proximity

to water bodies and other recreational functions and the capacities of the transportation

networks. If the above measures are implemented together with the other Policy and

Strategy recommendations, some more development could be allowed within the city. The

extent of this depends on the policies that are adopted. However, the following

recommendations are made to the suitability of lands available with respect to access and

circulation.

− On either sides of Baladaksha Mawatha. This area will be available after the

proposed relocation of the Army Head Quarters. This location is fairly isolated from

most of the transport corridors compared to other areas is within a very short


x

distance from the sea front and other recreational areas. Therefore the location is

more suitable for high-rise buildings with luxury apartments.

− Area around the Slave Island railway station. This area will be available after the

proposed relocation of the present informal settlements. This location is more

suitable for high risers with high-density commercial activity mainly due to its close

proximity with the Slave Island railway station and the proposal for a transfer

interchange there. Also new road infrastructure is proposed so that the road capacity

in the local areas will increase.

− On either sides of D.R.Wijewardena Mawatha. This stretch is also very suitable for

high risers with very high-density commercial activity due to its close proximity with

the proposed multi-modal transport terminal. The link across the railway will provide

the required road capacity.

− Area adjoining T.B.Jayah Mawatha and Deans Road. More suitable for medium

density commercial activity.

− Area adjoining Union Place and Vauxhall Street. More suitable for medium density

commercial activity.

− Area within Union Place, Dharmapala Mawatha and Sir James Peiris Mawatha. More

suitable for mixed luxury residential and medium density commercial activity.

− Area within Perahera Mawatha, Dharmapala Mawatha and the railway line. More



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Figure I: Recommendations For CMC & Environs


xii

Figure II: Recommendations For CBD


1-1

CHAPTER 1 : INTRODUCTION

This report is initiated given the possibility that some lands within Colombo City would be

made available after the relocation program for the defense establishments, the wholesale

establishment in Pettah and the re-development of informal housing under the sustainable

townships program. Thus the intention of this report is to investigate the manner in which

such lands may be developed so that there would be a desirable equilibrium between land

use development and transport access and mobility within the city.

References for this study have been the broad development guidelines given for the

Colombo Metropolitan Region (CMR) and in particular the proposals for the Capital Territory

as set out in the Colombo Metropolitan Regional Structure Plan (CMRSP) formulated by the

UDA in 1998. The study also takes as a guideline, the Masterplan for the Development of

Transport in the CMR, Working Paper #25 of the Colombo Urban Transport Study (CUTS)

Stage 2, carried out by WS Atkins in Association with the University of Moratuwa, for the

Ministry of Transport in 1999. No specific surveys or collection of data has been carried out

for this study.

1.1 Terms Of Reference

The Terms of Reference of this study are as follows:

1. Derive a conceptual plan for handling the public transport in Colombo City with special

reference to:

(a) Scope for passenger demand and interchange at Pettah

(b) Scope for satellite terminals and interchanges.

2. Investigate transport supply capacity for developing different sites as identified by the

UDA, with special emphasis on:

(a) Road capacity and traffic movement

(b) Requirement for LRT and any other forms of transport services.

3. Investigate the modal integration between different transport modes and land use

distribution within Colombo City for recommendations made in (1) and (2) above.

1.2 Study Area

The area of study for this assignment is the Colombo City. However, the locational

requirements of the transport services required by the city, extends beyond the city limits in


1-2

some instances. Hence, areas as far as Kelaniya to the north, Battaramulla to the east and

Ratmalana to the south have been included. The Figure 1.1 shows the study area and the

extended area considered. However, the specific requirements of these extended areas

have not been fully dealt, within this study. For example, the needs arising out of the defense

and other State establishments moving to the Kotte area and other transport sector projects

such as the Outer Circular Road all of which have only limited impact for the Colombo City

development, have not been discussed at length here.

1.3 Study Team

This study was led by Amal S. Kumarage, B.Sc. (Eng.), Ph.D., FCIT (UK), Senior Lecturer

and Head/ Transportation Engineering Division, University of Moratuwa and was assisted by

Research Assistant, Mr. AGAN Nanayakkara, B.Sc. (Eng.) who also compiled the drawings

with assistance from Mr. Nuwan Kodagoda and Ms. Pradeepa Jayaratne.

1.4 Acknowledgements

Discussions were held with several officers of the UDA in formulating the strategies set out is

this report. The study wishes to specifically acknowledge the contributions made by Mr. K.V.

Dharmasiri (Deputy Director General -Planning), Mr. Prasanna Silva (Deputy Director

General -Projects), Mr. Ragi Kadirgamar (Consultant), Dr. Malal Athauda and Mrs. Preethi

Fernando. The study team also gratefully acknowledges the logistical assistance provided by

Mr. Gunatileke Banda, Head of the Transportation Unit of the UDA.


1-3

Figure 1.1: Study Area & Extended Study Area


2-1

CHAPTER 2 : BACKGROUND

History reveals that Colombo was established and indeed grew to be the Primate City in Sri

Lanka during the period of Colonial rule. The present day road and rail networks date back

to the early 20th century and were clearly set out to create Colombo as a dominant seat of

administration. It was also the commercial center backed by the Port of Colombo as the

foremost international port of entry for non-agricultural imports to the country and agricultural

exports from the country. As a result the City also provided the transport center for the

country.

This position has grown in strength over the years, with the addition of the international

airports and more lately of the location of many industries in close proximity to the city. The

city itself had grown to a moncentric urban area extending way beyond its originally intended

limits by the end of the British rule. Thus the suburbs have gradually become highly

residential areas, as more and more land within the city got utilized for commercial and

administrative purposes. Thus the numbers entering the city for employment and business

activities have grown faster than the resident population. Even in more recent years this

trend has been evident, where it is noted that while the city’s population has increased by

around 25 percent in the last 15 years, the number of people entering the city daily has

nearly doubled over the same period.

This change in land use in Colombo is evident, when one compares that over 1,000,000

(one million) persons are presently entering the city daily, as opposed to the 675,000 that

are resident within the city. Even though accurate values do not exist, the analysis of

transport flow data indicates that around 600,000 jobs are possibly made available within the

city. However over 50 percent of these people are judged to travel to work from outside of

the city. These persons commuting to and from the city daily are mostly resident in urban

centers located along the main road and rail corridors radiating from the city. Commuting

distances range up to 40 kms from the center.

Presently, 90 percent of these people enter the city by road. The proportion using private

vehicles has also steadily increased from around 10 percent in 1965 to 35 percent by 1995.

Due to increasing traffic levels, mostly resulting from the rapid increase in private vehicles,

most radial road corridors to Colombo City have been widened or improved during the last

two decades. In spite of these improvements, travel time on all the radial roads, including

those that have been recently widened, keeps falling to unsatisfactory level. Congested flow

conditions exits for most of the day. There is therefore pressure brought upon the authorities

to widen roads even further or construct new roads, to keep up with the ever increasing

traffic levels. However, road widening is quickly becoming a virtual impossibility as high rise

structures and historic buildings that are spread throughout the city, border existing roads

and further widening proves to be costly as well as disruptive of the features that represent

the historic character of the city. The other factor that prevents widening of existing roads is

the rate at which the vehicle fleet is increasing. The rapid rate at which the vehicle fleet

increases, far out strips the legal and institutional capacity available for road widening.


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Railway capacity on the other hand has not been increased in significant terms in recent

times and though some sections reach capacity during peak periods, there is still some

potential for increasing the capacity on these radial rail lines.

The demand for road space grew in particular after the deterioration of the public transport

from the mid 1980s. The influx of motorcycles, followed by vans and three wheelers

accounts for over 50 percent of road space used at present. Bus or rail could have

transported most of these users if the quality and quantity of public transport could have

been maintained.

However, the congestion resulting from the influx of many private vehicles, has caused

severe constraints on accessing the commercial core of the city, traditionally located in the

Fort and Pettah. Not only is there congestion on the approaches, there is a shortage of

parking space as well. The last decade or so have seen the gradual relocation of several key

business establishments from the center to more accessible areas such as Slave Island,

Kollupitiya, and Cinnamon Gardens as well as to the suburbs. In the meanwhile, the gradual

relocation of government offices from the Fort to Battaramulla, Pelawatte areas within the

Kotte MC has also led to changes in travel patterns. As a result, congestion is now seen all

over the city, and at all times of the working day and often even at night times. Problems

regarding inadequate intersection control, inadequate parking and lack of adequate access

control for main roads have all contributed to poor facility for travel and circulation within

most parts of the city.

Thus it is evident that two specific transport problems have surfaced at present in the City of

Colombo. On the one hand, the corridors to the city have slowed down and as such,

accessing the city center has become extremely difficult. Secondly, mobility within the city

has also slowed down due to haphazard migration of businesses and lack of integrated

planning with transport facilities required.

The CMRSP identifies the emerging new role for the Fort area as the Financial District of the

city. Along with the several five-star hotels and the new commercial space added through

the World Trade Center development, its is seen as having the potential to remain

competitive and continue to attract adequate commercial activity and employment within the

CBD. Administration centers have inmost part left Fort and a number of businesses are

relocating away from the Fort area, the exodus having been triggered in particular following

the bombing of the Central Bank in 1996. Presently there is an effort to move out the

defense establishments located in Fort as well as the President’s House. Therefore, the

CBD’s traditional role, as the center of commerce, administration and employment has

already begun to change. Moreover, the planned relocation of the wholesale activities from

the Pettah will also cause major changes to its character as the center of freight transport.

These activities should also result in changes to the passenger transport services. However,

Colombo’s ‘CBD centered’ passenger transport pattern has still not seen a change. It


2-3

continues todate as the focal point of nearly 700,000 passenger trips most of whom arrive in

the CBD only for purpose of transferring from one bus route to another.

2.1 The Present Transport Network

The transport infrastructure that serves Colombo City is made up of the road network and

the railway network. Though there are remnants of the network of water transport routes

widely used in the 17th and 18th centuries, it is hardly put to use today. Colombo does not

have a rapid transit system, even though it did have a tram system disbanded in 1959.

There are sidewalks on most streets, but no specifically deigned pedestrian areas or malls.

Dedicated facilities for bicycles are almost non-existent. Colombo does however have an

extensive bus route network, with over 17,000 bus trips entering the city daily. Of these, 56%

(that is all 2,000 long distance buses and 7,500 of the 15,000+ suburban and local buses)

touch the CBD, of which number 92% (that is all the 2,000 long-distance buses and over

6,700 of the suburban and local buses) terminate at Pettah. This clearly shows the present

focus on Pettah as the center of all bus transport operations and transfers. The status of the

rail, road and bus networks may be summarized as follows:

2.1.1 Railway Network

The railway network at present consists of four radial lines centered on Fort railway station

at Pettah. These lines serve, the northern, north-eastern, north-western and southern

quadrants of the city. However, the eastern parts of the city is not served by rail. Therefore

the network does not serve areas such as Battaramulla, Malambe, Kaduwela, Biyagama etc.

Presently, around 100,000 passengers are brought into the city daily on these four lines.

Even though the railway enjoys a faster speed of travel, delays and cancellations have made

the railway use mostly confined to peak periods. Within the city there are only nine railway

stations. Most of these are located on the coastal line and are poorly accessible. Thus the

railway is not widely used as a means of travel within the city. It is used mostly by the

commuters to the city traveling 20 or more kms.

2.1.2 Highway Network

The highway network at present provides an adequate connection from the Colombo city to

the suburbs, with several radial links. It is possible to identify ten such radially oriented links

namely the Colombo-Galle Road, Pamankade-Horana Road, Colombo-Ratnapura (High-

Level) Road, Narahenpita-Nawala-Nugegoda Road, Cotta Road, Kollupitiya -Sri

Jayawardenapura - Kaduwela (Parliament) Road, Colombo-Hanwella (Low-Level) Road,

Kolonnawa Road, Kandy Road and Negombo Road. These roads provide a direct

connection between many suburban centers and the CBD in Colombo. However there are

exceptions. For example, the Narahenpita - Nugegoda radial does not extend beyond

Nugegoda, though there are roads that can connect it to Hokandara and Athurugiriya. Thus

a proper radial link is not available to the area lying in between High-Level Road and Low-

Level Road. Due to this reason, places like Hokandara, Athurugiriya etc. are not radially

connected to the Colombo City. The ten radial roads account for carrying around 900,000


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persons daily in to the city. Of this number, 750,000 are brought by 17,000 buses, while the

balance 150,000 persons are carried in by nearly 75,000 assorted vehicles ranging from

motor cycles to charter vans. It is noted that private vehicle take up 80 percent of the

available road space but carry only 20 percent of the passengers. The roads in the orbital

direction have only recently been developed. Most of these are limited to two lane or even

sub-standard (less-than) two lane highways. Most such links are only present in segments

and are not aligned in a suitable manner to function as a complete orbital link.

2.1.3 Bus Network

Compared to the 750,000 passengers crossing the city limits in 17,000 buses, the CBD is

also crossed by 367,000 bus passengers in nearly 9,500 buses. This clearly shows that the

bus routing is strongly radial and has not kept up with the migratory patterns within the city in

recent times. Furthermore, surveys in CUTS Stage 2 show that of these buses arriving at

the CBD over 92 percent terminate at Pettah. That means nearly 9,000 buses terminate their

trips at Pettah. This includes the 2,000 long-distance buses. However, a large proportion of

local and suburban buses also terminate at Pettah. This latter action is a relatively recent

development, mostly due to the reluctance of private bus operators to move out of the CBD

at times when passenger patronage is low. They terminate operations and are parked for

long durations. Studies have found that at any given time during a normal weekday there are

300 to 500 buses parked either within the CBD or just outside.

Another reason for buses parking in the CBD is the gradual elimination of, or crowding out of

suburban terminals. The space available at termini such as Kadawatha, Mt Lavinia,

Bambalapitiya, Kollupitiya, Nugegoda, Maharagama has actually reduced with land earlier

used for parking, being developed for supermarkets, shopping complexes, parking areas etc.

No new space has been added in the last two decades for bus terminal or parking space

within the city or in its suburbs with the exception of Pettah! Furthermore many on-street

terminals such as at York Street-Fort, Lotus Road-Fort, Khan Clock Tower, Torrington, Town

Hall etc have also been abandoned due to increased traffic flows on these roads. All these

factors shave led to the congregation of buses in the CBD area.

Another acute problem is in the lack of adequate orbital and cross-town bus routes. Before

the period of private sector dominance of the bus market, there were many cross-town

routes such as Maharagama-Kadawatha; Moratuwa- Kotahena etc. These were buses that

operated through Pettah but terminated at two suburban terminals. But Private bus operators

have for revenue purposes, truncated these routes in order to cause transfers and thereby to

collect the ‘step-on-fare’ added on when a transfer is made from bus to bus. This means that

most such passengers alight and re-board at the Pettah bus terminal in order to get

connecting buses (transfers). This has resulted in the expansion of the bus terminal facilities

in Pettah to three different off-street locations and also on street along Olcott Mawatha.

There is as a result of passengers transferring between buses, a very large pedestrian

activity generated that makes the area around the 5th Cross Street, Bodhirajah Mawatha and

Olcott Mawatha extremely busy and congested during any hour of the day.


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From the data available, the following breakdown is worked out for the numbers and type of

bus passengers who is found to arrive within the CBD every working day.

For Employment within CBD (Fort and Pettah) 70,000

For Business/Shopping etc within the CBD 128,000

Transfer Passengers 169,000

• Long Distance �� Long Distance 4,500

• Long Distance �� Local (Colombo City) 87,500

• Long Distance �� Suburbs 30,000

• Suburbs �� Suburbs 18,500

• Suburbs �� Local 20,000

• Local �� Local 8,500

Total (all passengers) 367,000

This table clearly shows that only around 46 percent of boarding passengers at the Pettah

Terminal are transit (transfer) passengers. Thus a clear need exist for a terminal in Pettah

and/or Fort for those passengers (i.e. around 200,000 passengers) arriving to the CBD for

work, shopping, business etc. There is therefore no question of relocating the Pettah termini

in its entirety. Of the transfers, it can also be observed that the proportion of passengers

transferring from long distance to long distance is relatively low, while the majority of

transfers take place from long distance to local buses. While a strong linkage is shown to

exist with long distance bus passengers at Pettah, transfer from suburban to local buses and

even local-to-local also appears quite significant. The latter in particular shows the deficiency

in not having adequate through routes within the city. This clearly demonstrates a dominant

transfer center in Pettah, where bus trips from out station areas as well as suburbs are

brought in only for the purpose of distributing them out again. These passengers could

however, be also handled at one or more peripheral terminals and conveyed to their

destination even within the city, provided a set of local bus routes of a high frequency can be

made to also serve these terminals.

2.1.4 Bus Terminals and Railway Stations

There are presently eleven bus terminals and nine railway stations within Colombo City.

However these Railway Stations and Bus Terminals have not been developed or improved

in many decades. As the Table 2.1 shows, in fact, some terminal facilities that once existed

for buses have now been withdrawn (e.g. Railway Station Fort, Lotus Road-Fort, Vihara

Lane-Wellawatte). The space once available for passengers and buses have in other cases

been utilized for commercial activities and bus terminal activities have got crowded out (e.g.

Kollupitiya, Borella, Wellawatte, Narahenpita). Moreover, no efforts have been taken to

strengthen the linkages between bus and rail where such connections have been poor (e.g.

Cotta Road, Narahenpita, Wellawatte). To the contrary, bus terminals located close to the

stations (such as at Fort, Bambalapitiya) have been removed in total. In some cases (e.g.

Slave Island, bus routes have been diverted away from the railway station).


2-6

Table 2.1: Status of Public Terminals and Intermodal Linkages within Colombo City

Area Bus Terminal Railway Station

Fort None. (1) Lotus Road bus terminal removed. (2) Fort Railway Station Bus Terminal has been removed. (3) York Street Bus Terminal has been removed. (4) Khan Clock Tower Bus Terminal has been removed.

(1) Secretariat Halt and (2) Fort Station (around 400 meters from center of Fort). Fort Station a terminal for most trains including long-distance

Pettah Three separate terminals exist but located at walking distances ranging between 100-300 meters between them. Very congested roads and sidewalks. Poor transfer facilities. Some shelters available but toilets and drains of poor standard.

Fort Railway Station exits which is around 200 meters to the nearest bus terminal. Poor connection between bus and rail. Bus Terminal which was initially next to Fort Railway Station has gradually been completely removed.

Slave Island On-street terminal existed but buses do not terminate here any more.

Railway Station located around 100 meters to nearest bus route. Earlier bus route from Galle face went adjacent to station but now re-routed.

Kollupitiya Bus terminal adjacent to railway station congested and crowded out by buses and commercial activities. Some routes diverted as space not available for terminating, especially after closing of St Michael’s Road terminal.

Railway station is well located adjacent to bus terminal.

Bambalapitiya Bus terminal originally located adjacent to railway station but access closed and now shifted to top of Bauddahaloka Mawatha a virtual on-street terminal.

Railway Station available. Good rail-bus linkage that existed was severed and is now around 200 meters apart. Heavy pedestrian traffic between bus and railway disrupts traffic flow on Galle Road.

Wellawatte On-street bus terminal has got smaller due to provision of parking for commercial activities. Vihara Lane bus terminus closed and service stopped.

Railway Station is poorly connected to bus routes, as it is nearly 200 meters to Galle Road and the bus terminal is on the other side of Galle Road.

Kirulapone No Bus Terminal Railway Station though available, is in inaccessible to bus routes and nearly 600 meters to the closest bus route.

Narahenpita Bus Terminal available, but commercial development and parking has required he relocation of part of the terminal to Baseline Road.

Railway Station though available is around 100 meters to the closest bus route and over 400 meters to the bus terminal.

Town Hall Buses terminate but only on-street facilities. Bus halts spread over distances of around 200 meters though many transfers take place, poor facilities.

No Rail Station

Borella Bus terminal crowded out due to commercial activity and many buses use on-street terminal facility.

Cotta Road Station located around 800 meters from bus terminal.

Maradana No bus terminal Railway Station centrally located, some trains terminate/start here

Kotahena On-Street Bus Terminal No Railway Station

Totalanga On-street Bus Terminal No Railway Station

Mattakkuliya On-street Bus Terminal No Railway Station

Dematagoda No Bus Terminal Railway Station beside Baseline Road, but no bus terminal.


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2.2 Colombo Metropolitan Regional Structure Plan

(CMRSP)

The formulation of the CMRSP was initiated by the UDA in 1996. This type of integrated

planning approach was seen as a resumption of planned regional development after a break

of over two decades. The Colombo Metropolitan Regional Structure Plan (CMRSP) is

described as a rational land-use and infrastructure strategy to facilitate a planned

development of the CMR. In this context it must be mentioned that the CMRSP has

addressed one of the most important aspects affecting both land use and transport

development in the region, namely, the absence of a linkage between the two sectors.

The CMRSP identifies three undesirable features of the current development practice that

has arisen due to a lack of a planned approach between land-use and transport.

(a) Extensive ribbon development along the main trunk roads (transport corridors);

(b) Under-utilization of land between the radial corridors and

(c) Inadequate transport infrastructure within Colombo City to sustain the increasing use

of private vehicles.

In addressing these issues, the CMRSP has proposed a new land-use and transport linkage

and urban structure. Satellite cities linked to each other and to the CBD are proposed as

growth centres to encourage development away from the corridors to presently under

developed areas between corridors. It has also identified several transport facilities

alongside other infrastructure required to achieve a strategically determined development of

the region. The growth promoted by Colombo is expected to be diverted to these ‘counter

magnet’ townships thus reducing the pressure on land use and transport in the city center.

This strategy is a move away from Colombo being a monocentric city and aims at

developing the CMR on the basis of polycentric urban agglomeration concept.

The CMRSP notes that the population of the CMR was 4.6 million in 1996. Although this was

25% of the population of the entire country, the land area coming under the CMR amounted

to only 5.6%. According to the projections in the CMRSP, this population is estimated to

increase to 6.5 million by the year 2010. During this same period, it is anticipated that the

share of urban population of the CMR would increase from 51% to 74%. However, Colombo

City, which had a population of 638,700 in 1996, is expected to grow by 1.38 % p.a. to

774,400 by 2010. The other existing urban centres of over 100,000 population in the CMR

are Kotte, Battaramulla, Negombo, Gampaha, Homagama, Dehiwela-Mt-Lavinia and

Moratuwa. With the gradual relocation of administrative functions to Kotte the CMRSP

further envisages the development of an area called the Capital Territory, by combining the

existing City of Colombo as the banking and financial Center and Greater Kotte is ear

marked to become the administrative center. The plan also proposes the development of six

Growth Centres as the satellite cities in the suburban areas of Gampaha, Negombo,

Biyagama, Homagama, Horana and Matugama. These are centers, even at present


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experience a higher than average growth in population primarily due to the availability of

land in adequately close proximity to both Colombo as well as to industries scattered

throughout the CMR. The combined population of the six growth centres is expected to grow

by a rate of around 3.66% p.a. (on average) from 875,000 in 1996 to 1,461,000 by 2010.

The CMRSP has proposed the above land use changes after considering, trends in urban

sprawl, rapid conversion of agricultural land- for residential use, increasing transport costs,

spread of industrial locations throughout the CMR and the difficulties of providing

infrastructure facilities for new urban and industrial development mushrooming everywhere.

For example, the CMRSP notes that ‘incompatible land use and ribbon development along

the principal trunk roads in the region has led to traffic congestion and delays in passenger

travel’. It notes that ‘as a result, the cost component of transport in the production of goods

and services is rapidly escalating in the region’. This means that the CMR as well as

Colombo City will gradually loose the competitive edge for commercial and industrial

production within their respective areas. The combined land use- transport strategy adopted

in the CMRSP aims to provide for more space efficient modes of transport, whereby more

people can be commuted to employment in urban centers without constraining the transport

system to an extent of unacceptable levels of congestion on the one hand or on the other

hand having to cause extensive demolition of buildings for road widening or new roads

required to accommodate demand for new travel.

The CMRSP proposals to develop the core area as a mixed high-density land use and to

facilitate the planned formation of six satellite city centers can be considered as a pragmatic

approach. The fact that these six cities are chosen on the basis of centres experiencing

rapid growth at the present times give it added strength. However, the success of these

centers will depend on the quality of transport access that will be available to boost their

natural growth pattern. To achieve the strategic development objectives for the CMR, the

CMRSP, proposes the following transport sector strategies:

(a) to provide a high- mobility (higher speed) oriented limited access road network for inter-

regional transport requirements for those travel ling through the CMR;

(b) to redesign the existing radially-oriented corridors of the CMR by improving the facilities

and particularly the quality of public transport, in order to maximize limited transport

right-of-way within the region and thereby to increase speeds and flow along these

corridors;

(c) to provide improved access between the under developed areas of the CMR and

peripheral growth centres, and industrial centres in order to facilitate their rapid

development as planned cities and

(d) to develop a multi-modal transport system for the inner city (within Colombo City) that will

be socially acceptable, economically viable and environmentally sustainable.


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2.3 Colombo Urban Transport Study Stage–2 (CUTS-2)

The Ministry of Transport with assistance from the World Bank undertook an extensive study

called the Colombo Urban Transport Study between 1995 and 1999. This was carried out in

two stages and many proposals for different improvements to road, rail and bus transport

have been made in this study. However most of these proposals are not based on any

overall transport plan or strategy and has little reference to future changes in land use in

Colombo City the region. However, Working Paper #25 of CUTS Stage 2 that is titled ‘A

Masterplan for the Development of the Colombo Metropolitan Region’ attempts to formulate

such a strategic transport plan based on the CMRSP. It identifies a number of transport-

related issues that will constrain the urban and regional development strategy set out in the

CMRSP. These issues are listed as:

(a) Managing the Increase in Vehicle Ownership (and Fleet);

(b) Arresting the deteriorating Public Transport and Improving its Quality and Supply

(c) Introduction of New Modes of Mass Transit and

(d) Rationalizing the Road Development Program.

It may be useful to summarize these four issues and the proposals that CUTS Working

Paper # 25 proposes. These are:

2.3.1 Vehicle Ownership

Worldwide, private vehicle ownership is associated with increase in personal incomes. It

represents freedom of personal choice and flexibility to individual travel needs. All

indications are that vehicle ownership in Sri Lanka too will grow at between 4 to 8 percent

per annum. This will be higher than the increase in GDP and in fact much higher than the

growth in population. Increases in vehicle ownership and the consequent increase in the

vehicle fleet and increased usage, will require more road space, parking space and

measures to control air pollution, road accidents etc. The inability to provide these will cause

congestion, pollution and further aggravate the land use issues that have been raised in the

CMRSP. Therefore, vehicle ownership in Sri Lanka and particularly that of the CMR needs to

be understood and managed through a strategic plan so that the development plan for the

Colombo City and the CMR can be achieved and sustained.

The fact that the CMR will continue to be developed as the most commercialized and

industrialized region in the country will mean that the incomes in the CMR will always be

considerably higher than the rest of the country. The average income within the CMC

therefore, would be expected to be the highest. This feature is expected to continue in to the

foreseeable future and until large-scale regional development programs change the present

income distributions. Such a scenario can be sustained only if the road density is adequately

high to begin with and can be kept up by continuing road-building programs. For road

building to be sustainable, land should be available, which means that to begin with, the

population density should be low. Thus cities with low road densities and high population


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densities would only be able to sustain relatively lower levels of traffic and correspondingly,

lower use particularly of the private vehicle.

The following are given as key factors that will determine the saturation levels that should be

placed on the level of sustainable car ownership in a given areas or region.

• Population Density

• Performance of Public Transport

• Road Length (or Road Density)

Table 2.2:Critical Parameters Determining Sustainable Vehicle Ownership in CMR

Region

Vehicle

Ownership

Level 1998

Share of

Public

Transport

1998

Population

Density

(per/ha)

Road

Density

(m/person)

Desired Vehicle

Ownership

Saturation Level

(per 1000

persons)

CMC 262 50% 174 0.2 200-300

Colombo District 141 55% 30 1.8 300-400

CMR 97 60% 13 2.8 400-500

Sri Lanka 74 60% 3 5.5 -

Based on a comparison of the above with international observations given in Table 2.2, the

following vehicle ownership level are deemed in the Masterplan (i.e. CUTS 2 Working Paper

# 25) as being appropriate for the sub-regions within the CMR. If these levels are exceeded

it will result in low travel speeds, environmental problems, parking problems and overall high

cost of mobility for the City as well as the region and country.

If the present vehicle ownership levels are compared with the desired saturation levels, it

appears that the CMC areas have almost reached saturation level. In order to compensate

for vehicles licensed in Colombo, which are in reality operating elsewhere, the upper level of

300 vehicles per 100 persons could be adopted. This means that, the CMC’s present

population density and road density can sustain only a further 15% increase in vehicle

ownership levels.

Managing a relatively lower saturation level when personal incomes keep rising can only be

achieved through a series of interventionist measures that have been outlined in the study.

These are usually difficult political decisions and few cities have been entirely successful in

getting such policies fully implemented. Such measures may be summarised as:

(a) To discourage vehicle ownership and purchase (vehicle taxes, import restriction);

(b) To discourage vehicle use (fuel taxes, tolls, parking limitations, traffic ceilings,

occupancy restrictions, restricted areas/days) and

(c) To encourage quality, quantity and performance of public transport.


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There is also the chicken and egg debate as whether to improve public transport first or to

impose restrictions first. Most successful examples from around the world appear to have

done both in concert.

2.3.2 Public Transport

Although basic bus and rail fares are considered as generally affordable for the vast majority

of the population, the quality of public transport is considered inadequate and deteriorating

further. Increase in bus travel times, over loading, lingering at bus stops, speeding, and

discourteous crews are regular complaints of the bus passenger. The Bus Transport Policy

Report envisages maintaining the present bus modal share in the CMR through a series of

measures aimed at improving both quality and quantity of bus transport. These include

improvements to the regulatory functions of routing and scheduling and management of

buses and operations as well.

In the railways at present, the Main Line carries between 20-30% of all passenger

movements on that corridor. The Coastal Line carried between 15-20% shares. Both the

Negombo and Kelani valley lines carry less than 4% of the traffic on their respective

corridors. Improvements identified for the railways include more rolling stock (i.e. schedule

more trains) and improvements to track capacity. The six-year development plan envisages

the railway attempting to double its passenger ridership by the year 2004. However, even

with new rolling stock put in to operation in the past few months, little progress has been

achieved todate.

One problem that is surfacing is the absence of good quality terminals and inter-modal

transfer locations (interchanges) for public transport users. Space that existed in many

suburban town centers has been utilized for supermarkets and shopping complexes. The

facilities for bus passengers and buses have deteriorated at all such terminals. Not even

toilets are found in many such terminals. The poor planning of bus routes have also made

such terminals literal bus parks, with little or no space for the needs of passengers. No

attention has been paid to strengthening inter-modal ties. In fact bus terminals that were

adjoining rail stations have been shifted wholly or in part (e.g. Bambalapitiya, Kollupitiya,

Dehiwela etc).

2.3.3 New Public Transit Systems

The CMRSP has proposed a People Mover System for Colombo City as a means of

improving public transport as well as introducing a higher level of service in public transport.

This is essential if pubic transport is to be a viable alternative for people whose incomes are

increasing. With increasing incomes people look for quality in public transport. If they do not

find adequate quality, then the desire to own and then use a private vehicle would be un-

stoppable. Therefore, the need for a new public transit system has a wider connotation than

its immediate financial viability. It should be a part of a strategic plan of managing mobility in

the CMR. The CUTS Working Papers # 11 and # 25 pay attention to this suggestion and

proceeds to recommend that Light Rapid Transit (LRT) as the most appropriate mode of


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transport. These are short-distance electric trains that can use either separate right-of-way

or share existing road space and can also make stops at short intervals similar to a bus.

Such systems are increasingly deployed in cities around the world and popularly used for

circulation within city areas as well as for commuting passengers for distances of up to 10-15

kms.

2.3.4 Road Development

The Masterplan notes that transportation network within the area of Colombo city and the

Colombo Business District predominantly consists of a set of major radial corridors focused

towards the Colombo city and several minor orbital links. During the past, Colombo city has

been functioned as the administrative capital and the commercial capital of the country and

most of the activities were confined to the city center. Therefore these radial corridors had

served the Colombo city adequately in the past and the demand for orbital links was

insignificant. However with the development of the suburban centers as well as the shifting

of the administrative capital to Kotte, the existing transportation patterns has gradually

changed. It is anticipated that there will be a slowing down of the growth of traffic on the

radial corridors coupled with an increase in growth rates in the orbital routes.

Therefore the approach to road widening in the Working Paper # 25 of CUTS 2 is

understandably cautious. It identifies some road corridors for widening but also recommends

that corridor widening should be for purpose of introducing public transport based projects

such as bus-lanes, that would enable more people to travel to Colombo City rather than just

more vehicles. However, major scale road widening is recommended for orbital type roads

around Colombo. This is in anticipation that traffic in the orbital patterns will continue to

increase rapidly. With the formation of satellite cities this will increase even further. Thus

connecting sections of link roads in to one or two well developed orbital roads is

encouraged. The Masterplan argues that due to the present low levels, such traffic needs to

be accommodated initially on the roads and rail links, though necessary to sustain long-term

development, may have to be constructed somewhat later when demand for such travel

increases.

2.4 Nature of the Present Transport Demand

2.4.1 Growth in Travel on Radial Corridors

The trends in the demand for travel to Colombo along the radial transport corridors can be

studied from the year 1965. There are a total of eight corridors for which data is available

over this time period. The combined road and rail daily passenger flows on each corridor for

the years 1965; 1985 and 1995 have been calculated and tabulated in Table 2.3. These

have been measured at the CMC boundary. The corresponding average annual growth rates

(AAGR) for the intervening periods 1965-85; 1985-95; 1995-99) have also been shown

therein. It can be observed that, while the overall growth of passenger travel to and from the

city has grown steadily, different corridors have grown at different rates depending on

improvements to the transport (mostly roads) in those corridors.


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Table 2.3: Daily Passengers in Both Directions at the CMC Boundary (1965-95)1

Corridor 1965 (000s) AAGR2

(65-85)

1985 (000s) AAGR

(85-95)

1995 (000s)

Galle 91 5.8% 279 1.7% 331

Negombo/Kandy 118 6.2% 400 3.6% 607

Ratnapura 62 4.2% 141 3.9% 206

Cotta Rd/SJP Rd 45 3.5% 893 10.8% 249

Horana Rd 21 5.2% 58 8.1% 126

Kolonnawa Rd 38 2.0% 56 0.1% 59

Narahenpita Rd 12 6.2% 40 (0.1%) 35

Low Level Rd - - 32 12.0% 63

TOTAL 387 5.3% 1,095 4.4% 1,676

Working paper # 25 of CUTS 2 sets out the capacities along the corridors that can be

accommodated under the provision of different transport modes. This is set out in Table 2.4

and shows a possible increase in number of passengers up to nearly 3.8 million trips by the

year 2030. It should be noticed however that this increase comes from the introduction of

radial LRT lines on five of the major corridors that would account for around 50 percent of

the increase, while the balance would come from improvements to the railway (around 5

percent); improvements to bus transport – including bus lanes (25 percent) and increase in

private vehicles through new roads and road widening (20 percent). If all these new transport

infrastructure can be provided over the next 30 years, the number of persons coming into

Colombo could increase to 1.9 million per day, a doubling of the present. The annual growth

rate of 2.3 percent per annum would of course be much less than what has been

experienced in the last 30 years.

However, three questions dominate this calculation. These are:

(a) Can the investment, land etc required for such transport projects be mobilized over

the next decade or so?

(b) Does Colombo City have the scope to attract a near doubling of employment over

this period and

(c) Can Colombo City provide the facilities including transport for circulation for twice as

much people within the city?

Table 2.4 clearly shows that if a public-transport-based urban development policy is

adopted, Colombo City’s employment and activity level could even be doubled. However, if a

private-transport based policy is adopted, (as has been the de facto the practice over the last

two decades) then, even the existing employment may not be sustainable in the future. This

1

1965 data; based on the surveys from the Ceylon Traffic Study (Wilbur Smith Associates, 1966), 1985 data ; based on the surveys from the Sri Lanka Transport Sector Study & RDA counts (Louis Berger, 1988; RDA, 1988) and 1995 data: based on the surveys from the Colombo Traffic Study (University of Moratuwa, 1995). 2 AAGR- Average Annual Growth Rate- taken as the annual rate of increase in traffic volume for the period

between the two survey years. 3

Adjusted for Cotta Road, for which counts do not exist.


2-14

is because migration from public transport to cars and vans will take up all possible capacity

increments from any possible road widening etc.

2.4.2 Growth of Orbital Traffic Patterns

The traffic flowing in orbital directions around Colombo City have been comparatively much

smaller compared with radial flows. There are no counts or surveys that can provide trends

of past growth. However, rates of increase of around 5-7% p.a. have been generally

observed on these roads over the last decade. This is to be anticipated- with radial flows

reaching saturation, the land between radial corridors gets developed and an increasing

share of travel within the metropolis is therefore becoming inter-radial or orbital in nature.

Therefore, CUTS Stage 2 estimates that orbital traffic will increase much faster than the

radial traffic and will comprise a significant proportion in the longer term. Table 2.5 illustrates

traffic growth and estimates the passenger flow levels that could be estimated for such a

scenario.

Accordingly, Working Paper # 25 of CUTS 2 has identified a number of roads that could be

developed to accommodate this traffic. CMRSP also proposes a Loop Railway that could

accommodate a part of this demand.


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Table 2.4: Passenger Capacity by Corridor and Mode of Transport

Corridor (Bus/PV Ratio)

4

Mode

2005

2010

2020

2030

Galle Road (60/40)

Bus 257 257 257 257

Private Vehs 170 170 170 170

Railway 96 96 - -

LRT - 60 160 240

Negombo (65/35)

Bus 251 251 251 251

Private Vehs 205 205 205 205

Railway 32 48 64 64

LRT - - 120 240

Kandy (70/30)

Bus 180 327 327 327

Private Vehs 126 218 218 218

Railway 96 150 200 200

LRT - - - -

Ratnapura (60/40)

Bus 226 226 226 226

Private Vehs 150 150 150 150

Railway 12 12 12 12

LRT - 60 120 240

Cotta Rd/SJP (45/55)

Bus 154 154 154 154

Private Vehs 188 188 188 188

LRT - 60 120 240

Horana Rd (50/50)

Bus 98 98 98 98

Private Vehs 98 98 98 98

Kolonnawa (60/40)

Bus 45 45 45 45


Narahenpita (30/70)

Bus 16 16 16 16


Low Level (50/40)

Bus 46 46 46 46


Total by Mode

Bus 1,273 1,420 1,420 1,420

Private Vehs 1,038 1,130 1,130 1,130

Railway 236 306 276 276

LRT/MRT - 180 520 960

TOTAL All 2,547 3,036 3,346 3,786

Table 2.5: Anticipated Growth Rates for Orbital Routes.

1985 1995 2005 2010 2020 2030

% Trips in Orbital Routes compared to Radial Flows (approx.)

5% 10% 15% 20% 30% 50%

4 Bus/PV ratio indicates the proposed ratio of passenger splits for the corridor between Bus and the modes of

private vehicles such as motor cycles, taxis, cars and vans.


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2.4.3 Traffic Circulation within the City

The most recent transport data that provides an understanding of the extent and nature of

travel taking place exclusively within the City of Colombo is to be found in the Colombo

Traffic Study carried out by the University of Moratuwa in 1995. This study reveals that

(a) There were in 1995, 440,000 vehicle trips made exclusively within the city- daily. There

were over 60,000 vehicle trips beginning or ending in Pettah (trip ends), 39,000 trip ends

in Pettah, 41,000 in Kollupitiya, 51,000 in Slave Island and 49,000 in Maradana. These

five zones combine to account for over 50 percent of all private vehicle trips made within

the city. Since these areas are predominantly commercial, it clearly shows that much of

the traffic circulating within the city is related to commercial activity and is therefore

concentrated in such areas.

(b) It also reveals that the purpose for making these trips are as follows:

• To/From Work – 34 percent

• To/From School and other education trips – 8 percent

• Personal trips (shopping, medical, business etc) - 52 percent

• Social, recreational & chauffeur only and other trips – 6 percent

(c) The corresponding number of bus passenger trips made exclusively within the city is

estimated at 623,000 per day. Unlike in the case of private vehicles, the largest number

of trip ends made by bus passengers are observed in both mixed development areas

such as Borella (72,000), Maradana (55,000), Fort (55,000), and Bambalapitiya (55,000).

Based on these estimates, it is evident that even in 1995, less than 50 percent of the travel

within Colombo City was made by public transport. This clearly shows the inability of the

bus routes to satisfactorily meet the short distance travel needs of circulatory travel within

Colombo. Therefore, much of the traffic congestion within the city can be avoided if a good

quality public transport is provided based on the newly forming travel patterns and the needs

of the modern urban business traveler and shopper. However, it is probable that unless a

high quality mode of public transport is made available in Colombo, the condition of

congested roads will prevail and only worsen in the future. Therefore, the introduction of a

well planned bus service and the LRT as proposed would be the only manner in which and

increase (up to doubling) of the activities within the city.

2.5 On-Going Development Projects

2.5.1 Urban Development Authority

There are a number of development activities in and around Colombo City that are pursed

by the UDA and other agencies under the Ministry of Housing & Urban Development. These

may be summarized as follows:


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• Shifting of Manning Market to Orugodawatte: Land has been identified for this

purpose. Presently designs are being drawn for the relocation of all wholesale activities

being carried out at the Manning Market as well as the 4th and 5th Cross Streets in

Pettah.

• Shifting of President’s House and Defense Establishments to Pelawatte: Land has

been identified and designs are in progress.

• Sustainable Townships Program: Some areas with informal housing have been

selected for re-development as townships within the city. Trough a program of exchange

of residential land for commercial and residential developments, several such townships

are planned for the future.

2.5.2 Road Development Authority

The major projects handled by the RDA in the Colombo City and environs are as follows:

Colombo-Katunayake Expressway: This expressway is under construction and is

expected to provide four lanes of traffic parallel to the A3 highway from the New Kelani

Bridge up to the airport at Katunayake. Once operational it will form a strong link between

the northern end of the city and the International Airport at Katunayake. The CKE however,

has very little potential for regional development, as it is located between the ocean and the

already developed A3 (Negombo Road) corridor.

Baseline Project: Under this project the key north-south orbital serving the city on its

eastern boundary is being redeveloped as a six-lane highway. The first stage from New

Kelani Bridge has been completed, while the second stage up to Kirulapone is under

construction. The crucial third stage, which will complete the link and connect it to the Galle

Road at Ratmalana, is still not approved as it has run to protest over land acquisition.

Widening of Pelawatte-Pannipitiya Road: This will be an outer orbital that will serve the

Battaramulla-Pelawatte-Kotte areas and provide a good orbital road link as suggested in the

CUTS 2. This will strengthen the accessibility for the new administrative areas in Kotte MC.


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CHAPTER 3 : PRESENT ISSUES

Colombo City and the CBD have experienced a considerable level of urban development

during the recent past. Most of this development has been carried out without an overall

strategy. This lack of integrated planning has given rise to a number of issues that appear to

constrain further growth in most areas of the city. There are therefore several issues that

have arisen over the possibility and potential of future development within the City of

Colombo and its environs. These issues can be summarized as follows:

(a) Due to Urban Sprawl, the commuting distances between employment and business

activities within the city and its residential areas are increasing.

(b) Due to uncontrolled roadside activities, available capacity on major radial road corridors

is restricted and travel speeds are deteriorating especially for travel between home and

work.

(c) Due to the apparent inability of public transport to improve quality and supply, increasing

incomes of the residents in Colombo and the employees in Colombo have led to a rapid

shift of commuters to private vehicles, outstripping road widening programs and causing

heavy peak period congestion on all road corridors.

(d) The inability to provide a good public transport service for travel within Colombo City has

resulted in heavy dependence on private vehicles for short-distance travel within the city

causing high demand for roadside parking and severe congestion during the work day

particularly in the commercial areas of the city.

(e) Bus Terminals and parking areas within the city and in the suburbs have gradually been

taken over for commercial purposes. Inter-modal linkages particularly between rail and

bus have also been considerably weakened right across the city. The most serious is in

Fort where at least four bus terminals that were in operations have been closed entirely.

As a result of the non-development of new terminals and closure of existing bus

terminals in other parts of the city has led to increased pressure on Pettah.

Consequently, a large number of bus and rail passengers travel to the center of the city

purely for the purpose of transferring from one bus to another or between train and bus.

There are now at least four bus terminals and the railway station spread across a vast

area, and the resulting pedestrian traffic between these causes much congestion and

chaos within Pettah.

(f) Bus services have not adapted to change with the expanding city. Nearly 60 percent of

buses entering the city still terminate at the city center causing a huge burden of parking

and circulation particularly in the Pettah area.

(g) The business activities once concentrated in the CBD having migrated to areas such as

Slave Island, Town Hall, Maradana has resulted in large day time traffic flows on the

roads around the Beira Lake and congestion is experienced particularly at the

intersections of these roads.


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(h) There is no traffic management strategy for Colombo that ensures roads and

intersections are managed to their maximum available capacity. Lack of such a strategy

has resulted in allowing developments that generate traffic volumes far in excess of the

facilities for parking and movement available in the locality. Most areas within the city are

becoming intensely motorised and thereby the land use and street activities are being

changed in a subtle but steady manner. There is also no clear policy on traffic

management. For example, no strategies have been formulated to deal with effects of

major trip generators such as schools, shopping centres etc.

These issues and their impact on the future growth of Colombo and possible solutions are

further elaborated in the following sections.

3.1 Urban Sprawl

‘Due to Urban Sprawl, the commuting distances between employment and

business activities within the city and its residential areas are increasing’.

Urban sprawl results from a trade-off between land prices and transport costs. When urban

centers develop and more area is occupied for residential purposes, space within the city for

residential purposes diminishes. Subsequently more and more employees have to travel to

work from peripheral areas, thus setting off the forces of urban sprawl. If transport costs

(inclusive of time cost) are low, then the sprawl will progress rapidly and keep extending

further away from the city center. In the case of Colombo, it is common to find large

commuter traffic flows from distances of up to 40 kms from the center. The subsidized

season ticket travel has encouraged this very much. Thus, the number of persons entering

the boundary of the Western Province (CMR) every day is around 250,000, approximately

25 percent of the number of persons entering the Colombo City. The CMR boundary being

at distances of between 40 to 65 kms from the city, this clearly indicates the heavy long-

distance commuting profile.

If there are further developments in and around the City of Colombo, there will be more

pressure to extend the residential areas even further. Then employees will have to travel that

much further and the cost of travel (both fare plus time) will increase causing concerns to the

economic viability of sustaining employment activities in the center of the city. The CMRSP

proposal to encourage satellite cities clearly suggests that new employment activities will be

diverted to these centers. Thus Colombo’s future development should look particularly at a

scenario whereby the greater proportion of the employees base will reside say within 20 kms

or one hours’ travel from the city center during peak period. Thus a plan for the development

of Colombo should ensure that this constraint is met so that Colombo remains large enough

to attract urban activity but is not too large that sustaining a reasonable efficiency in getting

employees to work is difficult.


3-3

3.2 Development and Increased Activity along the

Corridors

‘Due to uncontrolled roadside activities, available capacity on major radial

corridors is restricted and travel speeds are deteriorating especially for trips

made between home and work’

This situation is evident along most of the corridors within the area, though to different

extents and it is critical along all radial corridors such as A1 (Kandy Road), A2 (Galle Road),

A3 (Negombo Road) and A4 (High-Level Road). This discourages people from seeking work

in Colombo City, particularly the CBD areas that are increasingly becoming inaccessible.

The vehicular movement along these corridors has been severely affected by the activity on

either side resulting in very low travel speeds along them. Too many right turns conflicting

with the main flow of traffic and the friction to the main flow by on street parking, roadside

trading are the major contributing factors in this issue. The increase of pedestrian

movements due to the urban development also causes friction to the vehicular movement

along the corridors resulting in a reduction of travel speed on the corridors.

Due to the high level of development on either side of these corridors, further widening of

these corridors to keep pace with the increase of demand has become difficult. This situation

is most evident and in fact critical at suburban towns where main radial corridors intersect

the orbital links such as at Nugegoda, Maharagama, Dehiwela, Borella, Kadawatha etc. As

most of these towns are located along main radial corridors, this increase of activity has a

severe impact on the vehicular movement along these corridors resulting in a ‘bottle-neck

effect’. This impacts the further development of Colombo City, as the catchment area for

employees cannot be maintained unless the transport corridors can provide faster travel. In

fact the railway is better suited at delivering passengers from longer distances. Hence, the

sustainability of Colombo’s employment base will be dependent on improving the commuter

railways as well as developing the road corridors for high mobility, especially with priority for

the most space-efficient mode of road transport –the bus.

3.3 Deterioration of Public Transport

‘Due to inability of public transport to improve quality and supply, the increasing

incomes have translated to a rapid shift of commuters to private vehicles,

outstripping road widening and causing heavy peak period congestion on all road

corridors’.

Deterioration of public transport is most evident in the fact that it is continuing to loose the

share of the market in commuting people to Colombo City and more so for travel within the

city. Many have moved to private modes of transport such as motor cycles, chartered vans

and private cars. Even though socially, it maybe considered as denoting prosperity, in

reality, such a migration from private to public modes of transport puts tremendous pressure

on the roads and the environment as has been experienced in Colombo over the last two

decades.


3-4

According to data available, the period between 1985 to 1995 saw the reduction of the share

of passengers brought in to Colombo by public modes of transport from 82 percent to 67

percent. Their share of passengers carried within Colombo City is well below 50 percent.

This includes both bus and rail. The rapid increase in traffic congestion over this period is

mostly attributed to the migration of these passengers to less space-efficient modes of

transport referred to earlier. Continuing deterioration of public transport will erode this share

even further, posing a major threat to the accessibility of Colombo City and the CBD in

particular. Hence, the need for a strong public transport service to serve Colombo City is

critical. For example, there are five rail tracks and a total of thirty four lanes of road traffic

presently feeding (in and out) Colombo City. Thus on average a rail track carries 40,000

passengers a day, while a lane of road traffic is carrying around 50,000. If the share of public

transport drops further to say 60 percent from the present 67 percent, it will lead to an

increase in the demand for road space by 20 percent. This translates to the requirement for

seven additional lanes of traffic to and from the city. Clearly, such increases cannot be

provided in the short term. Even long-term possibilities are limited, since most road corridors

cannot be widened any further and new roads such as the Colombo-Katunayake

Expressway are both costly and also generates much public protest over land acquisition

and environmental issues.

Therefore, if the further development of Colombo means that more employment and

business activities are to be generated within the city, then such an objective can only be

met and sustained if the quality and supply of public transport services can be maintained. If

not, and if indeed more migration takes place, it is conceivable that Colombo City will even

loose some employment to other growth areas such as the satellite cities suggested in the

CMRSP.

3.4 A Mode of Public Transport for circulation within

Colombo

‘The inability to provide a good public transport service for travel within Colombo

City has resulted in heavy dependence on private vehicles for short-distance

travel within the city causing high demand for roadside parking and severe

congestion during the work day particularly in the commercial areas of the’.

The migration of business activities from Fort and Pettah to surrounding areas over the last

decade has resulted in changes in the travel needs of people as well as for different forms of

goods transport between these areas. As distances between different offices and

establishments increase, trips that could have been made walking or by a bicycle have now

become motorised. As such, there is a high movement of traffic between the commercial

areas of Fort, Pettah, Maradana, Slave Island, Town Hall, Borella, Kollupitiya and Cinnamon

Gardens. The railway is ill suited for providing for these trips and even though buses provide

an extensive route coverage, the directness of routes and the deteriorating quality of service

has not made it popular for this type of travel. Presently, three wheeler taxis, taxis and

private cars provide much of the personal travel requirements. These vehicles however,


3-5

cause many problems of parking and retards the main travel flows on the major corridors by

stopping, making turns and other similar movements typical of short distance travel.

The need for a high quality people mover system, similar to those in operation in cities such

as Manila, Singapore or Hong Kong is quite evident in Colombo and has been highlighted in

the CMRSP. The recommendation made in the CUTS 2 study, is for a Light Rapid Transit,

with the specific intent of attracting short-distance commuters, aimed particularly at those

who can afford to travel by private modes of transport. Such a system will give much

development potential to the city, as many streets can be cleared of parking and stopping

vehicles and replaced with LRT systems. This would increase the spread of the employment

within Colombo City so that travel between areas would not create traffic blocks. Such a

move would also improve the air quality within the city, making it more attractive for

residential facilities, tourists, shopping and leisure activities etc. Such a reduction of traffic

would also promote and perhaps cause a return of more retail type shopping into areas,

which are now highly motorised and thus unattractive for leisurely shopping activities.

3.5 Disappearing Bus Terminals and Interchange

Facilities

‘Bus Terminals and parking areas within the city and in the suburbs have

gradually been taken over for commercial purposes. Inter-modal linkages

particularly between rail and bus have also been considerably weakened right

across the city. The most serious is in Fort where at least four bus terminals that

were in operations have been closed entirely. As a result of the non-development

of new terminals and closure of existing bus terminals in other parts of the city

has led to increased pressure on Pettah. Consequently, a large number of bus

and rail passengers travel to the center of the city purely for the purpose of

transferring from one bus to another or between train and bus. There are now at

least four bus terminals and the railway station spread across a vast area, and

the resulting pedestrian traffic between these causes much congestion and

chaos within Pettah’.

Colombo City presently has eleven bus terminals and nine railway stations. These

have not been developed for many years. In fact their value has been ill understood by

planners and decision makers, as many of them have been moved out of prime inter-

modal locations to make space for commercial development, parking of private

vehicles and other reasons. The lack of a proper custodian of bus terminals (after the

dissolving the CTB) and the lack of an integrated approach to transport planning has

resulted in the neglect of public terminals that are an important national asset.

There is therefore the urgent need to think of setting up a set of public transport

terminals and interchange facilities on a planned basis. They should not be thought of

purely for making existing facilities bigger or better. What is required is to plan out a

hierarchy of public transport terminals after taking into consideration the new land use


3-6

activities and the travel patterns that are generated by them. The following objectives

may be worthwhile pursuing in such an exercise:

(a) Gathering the presently dispersed terminals (for bus and rail) in the Pettah area

and the chaotic transfer activities between them in to one central location.

(b) Eliminating all of the suburban and local routes presently terminating in Pettah

and getting them to operate through the CBD but to terminate at either (a) the

periphery of the city or (b) at a suburban location.

(c) Splitting the long distance routes that are terminating at Pettah, to three other

locations within the City located due north-east, east and south-east of Pettah

respectively.

(d) To strengthen the linkages between bus terminals and the railway stations by

either relocating bus terminals or routes or by relocating stations or opening

new stations closer to bus routes and terminals.

(e) To identify locations where a set of terminals can be developed at the periphery

of the city, so that all local bus services that require to serve the city would

terminate only here, thus leaving the center of the city (the CBD in particular)

and other areas free of parked buses.

(f) To identify locations in suburban areas, where suburban bus services can

terminate. Preferably locations that would have strong inter-change facilities

with the railway or with inter-regional road connections. There would also be a

value for providing park and ride areas at some of these locations.

(g) To develop roadside bus stops across the city, with better facilities for buses as

well as passengers.

3.6 Inappropriate Bus Routing

‘Bus services have not adapted to change with the expanding city. Nearly 60

percent of buses entering the city still terminate at the city center causing a huge

burden of parking and circulation particularly in the Pettah area’.

Even though the land use patterns within Colombo and its environs have changed drastically

over the last two decades, very few changes have been made to the bus routing system,

which is the main provider of transport to the city. As a result over 60 percent of the 17,000

buses that enter the city daily, arrive at Fort or Pettah, which was in earlier times the center

of employment. But with employment locations having changed, direct routes are now not

available, as changes to bus routes have not been affected even though new developments

have been made. As a result, passengers who travel by bus are highly inconvenienced, as

they have to make several transfers to complete a trip. Studies have shown that 60 percent

of all bus trips ending within the city are made with at least one transfer. Furthermore, with

Pettah still functioning as the central transport transfer point, large numbers of passengers

are required to get through to the center of the city every day, a journey that is often very

slow. With over 375,000 bus passengers arriving in the Pettah everyday it is clear that a


3-7

large percentage of them are brought to the center by bus routes converging at the center,

merely to transfer and be taken away by another route radiating from the center. This causes

tremendous pressure on the center and also on the roads leading up to it. The continuing

location of Pettah as the only bus terminus will result in an unhealthy dominance of the

congregation of bus routes to Fort and Pettah as is seen today. As a result, hundreds of

buses are found parked and moving around at any given time, thus making the areas highly

unsatisfactory for retail trade and pedestrian based activities.

There must be specific consideration on alternative termini that can divert some of this

transfer traffic. There is also the need for bus routes to be restructured so that the city is

served from the periphery as well as from the center, rather than from the center alone, as is

the case now. This will reduce much congestion in Pettah both in terms of pedestrian traffic

and vehicular traffic both of which are in unmanageable proportions now. Furthermore, new

bus routes that reflect travel patterns and can ply between the new set of termini as

recommended in the proceeding section, would also be necessary.

3.7 Heavy Traffic Circulation around the Beira Lake

‘The business activities once concentrated in the CBD having migrated to areas

such as Slave Island, Town Hall, Maradana has resulted in large day time traffic

flows on the roads around the Beira Lake and congestion is experienced

particularly at the intersections of these roads.’

The new commercial areas in Colombo appear to be spreading mostly on to the lands

adjacent to the roads around the Beira Lake. That is Vauxhall Street, Union Place, Darley

Road and D.R Wijewardena Mawatha are presently absorbing most of the migratory

relocations and are also earmarked for future development for commercial purposes. As

such, the traffic circulation around the lake has to be very good. At present, the intersections

at Lake House, Slave Island, Ibbanwela (Darley Road/Union Place) is often congested.

These are the three of the four intersections around the Beira Lake. Similar to this set of

roads around the Beira Lake, a different set of roads forms another traffic circle around the

railway line between Fort and Maradana, which cannot be crossed between Lake House and

Maradana. Like the roads around the lake, Olcott Mawatha, Maradana Road are also

attracting business and thus Maradana junction, Technical junction are also congested in a

similar manner (Figure 3.1).

While in the short-term, better traffic management may be adequate to solve this problem, a

long-term solution would be to bridge the lake and the railway together in an acceptable

manner so that there is a direct link between say, the Fort-Pettah Transport Terminal and

Slave Island. Such a road link will accentuate the visibility of the main Beira Lake (which is

hardly seen from any of the present roads). These road connections should complement the

LRT system that was referred to earlier and should ensure that the commercial activities

remain within this area. Or else, there is a danger that commercial activities could spill over

to the more residential areas such as Cinnamon Gardens, Borella and Kollupitiya and that

the resulting transport problems will further isolate the Fort and Pettah area and also cause

the spread of traffic congestion throughout the city.


3-8

3.8 Traffic Management Strategy

‘There is no traffic management strategy for Colombo that ensures roads and

intersections are managed to their maximum available capacity. Lack of such a

strategy has resulted in allowing developments that generate traffic volumes far

in excess of the facilities for parking and movement available in the locality. Most

areas within the city are becoming intensely motorised and thereby the land use

and street activities are being changed in a subtle but steady manner. There is

also no clear policy on traffic management. For example, no strategies have

been formulated to deal with effects of major trip generators such as schools,

and shopping complexes’.

There is no clear policy on land use and transport within Colombo City. Many other cities

have ear-marked areas that are pedestrian and free of traffic and combined those with retail,

shopping leisure, culture and other activities that are best suited to be done on foot. Major

traffic generators are situated well away from the main traffic arteries and restrictions on

parking and turning are placed to give priority to roads that carry through traffic. The

absence of such a policy will also hamper the free flow of vehicular as well as pedestrian

traffic. The city also needs to reconsider the traffic flow pattern. Reducing conflicts at

intersections by a system of one-way streets is a low-cost option. Building over passes is a

more costly but effective way provided the aesthetic aspects of the city are not hindered.


3-9

Figure 3.1: Existing Traffic Circles in CBD and Congestion at Intersections


4-1

CHAPTER 4 : INTERVENTIONS & DEVELOPMENT

OPTIONS

‘An interventionist policy aims at changing the present course of events to something

considered better and therefore more desirable. Any change in course requires two

simple rules of navigation. In the first instance there is the need to know the path that is

being taken at present and where such a course is heading. The second salient feature is

to know what direction is best to take’.

This chapter attempts to set out a discussion on the strategic proposals required for a

change of course that would provide for the future, a balance between land use and

transport in Colombo City. The discussion is intended to establish the rationale for an

interventionist policy in this regard, following the discussion in Chapter 3 of the limitations of

the existing trends and issues that will dominate the future.

Accordingly, an attempt is made to pose several questions on possible development options

for land use and the transport constraints and problems they pose and the potential solutions

for Colombo City. The intention of this exercise is to eventually evolve a well-integrated

strategic approach to the question on, if and how Colombo can be developed both in terms

of land use and transport infrastructure and services required for such land use. Only such

an approach can create a strong and sustainable urban center that will have the potential to

provide a competitive commercial center that will in turn create a gateway for other urban

and rural areas in Sri Lanka to successfully compete within a shrinking global market.

4.1 Question # 1

‘An extensive area of land within the City of Colombo is presently occupied by

the defense establishments, as well as numerous informal residential

settlements. There is also land owned by the Sri Lanka Railways in the CBD

area. The UDA proposes to relocate all the defense establishments to Pelawatte

and also redevelop the lands that presently occupy informal housing. Both these

actions will release considerably large amounts of land for alternate

development. The question arising from this possibility is that, given the present

experience of ever increasing problems of congestion in travel to and from

Colombo, as well as in circulation within it, would such a move to re develop

vacating land be sustainable in the long-term, especially when it is known that as

incomes increase, the use of private vehicles will also increase thus further

burdening the existing road network’.

Discussion: The logical approach to such a dilemma is to investigate the possible transport

based solutions to counter the problems outlined in the question. These would include

attempts to


4-2

(a) Encourage at least a part of the existing traffic flows to be re-directed away from

congested areas of the CBD (such as through the decentralizing of the transfer

terminal in Pettah and the relocation of the wholesale markets)

(b) To provide more transport capacity where ever possible (such as in the introduction

of LRT, parking complexes etc)

(c) To encourage the growth in the use of more space efficient modes of transport (by

improving the quality and supply of public transport, even to the extent of restraining

private vehicles).

Clearly the above measures require almost radical policy interventions. Unless a strong pro-

public transport policy can be supported then it is not recommended that more employment

be encouraged within the City. However, more employment may be planned to the extent

that more capacity for passenger movements can be provided as shown above and that the

financial and political support that is required for such endeavors is there.

4.2 Question # 2

‘Therefore if one were to assume that all or some of these transport based solutions (to

Question # 1) are possible to some extent, then there is the possibility that Colombo City

can attract and retain some more development-even up to doubling it present level of

activity. In which case, we should know what type of development is best suited for

Colombo City and where it should be located’.

Discussion: It was shown that large numbers of employees are commuting to Colombo

daily. Those who can afford and use private vehicles to travel take the most amount of road

space (per employee) to get to the city. In this case, it would be useful to use at least part of

the land becoming available for residential purposes particularly for those employees who

are most likely to use private transport. These may be located even within or in close

proximity to the CBD, so that the retail trade and pedestrian linkages can also be further

strengthened with a resident population using it at night and over weekends.

With respect to Commercial development, they would be best located where

• New transport infrastructure can be provided

• It is possible to improve the efficiency of the present transport infrastructure

• It is envisaged that vehicular access can be restricted and public transport services can

be strengthened.

As such, the areas that are being made vacant should be put to careful use in

redevelopment. They should not be developed for purposes that would further strain the

transport system. Using some of the land for new transport infrastructure would be a start.

Increasing the residential stock would be another.


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4.3 Question # 3

‘In order to achieve the above, does Colombo need an interventionist policy with regards

to Land Use and Transport? Alternately, is what is required a policy of providing more

of what has been provided in the past, in terms of the widening of existing roads,

improving railway lines, providing more buses and trains or the rebuilding of existing

terminals and stations and indeed developing land areas that are already in high

demand?’

Discussion: There are interventionist moves that should be made in both the urban

development and the transport sectors. There are two singular most important transport

sector interventions that would have a clearly influential impact on land use and transport

patterns.

The first is a change in the pattern of public transport within Colombo City. This relates to the

decentralizing of the function of the main Transport Terminal at Pettah. Rather than

providing for a new terminal to replace the existing termini, relocation of part of the terminal

to strategically located peripheral terminals would be the single most interventionist move

that can be set in motion to re-adjust transport patterns in line with present land-use patterns

and also to set the course for future development patterns. The setting up of a hierarchy of

public transport terminals and the rerouting of buses would provide a strong impetus to

intervene in changing the haphazard manner in which the city is developing today.

The second intervention would be in the formation of a strong north-south link on the eastern

periphery of the city so that the city can be served from the periphery inwards rather than the

present pattern of outwards from the center. Completion of Baseline Phase III would be

critical in this respect so that a proper linkage of adequate quality and capacity for the future

is available. This would provide the required peripheral linkage and also provide a western

approach to the on-going development areas in Kotte MC area.

The third interventionist transport move should be to adopt a policy of encouraging public

transport as the primary mode of transport to the city. This is required to determine the level

at which the city needs to be developed. If more employment is to be generated such a

policy would be a pre-requisite.

On the land use sector, relocating traditional functions in the CBD to peripheral areas would

provide an opportunity of addressing the issues of existing imbalances between land use

and transport in the Colombo City and the CBD in particular. As such, the relocation and re-

development program should have several objectives:

• Removing travel made to the center of the city (CBD) which has little contribution or

integration with activities that are aimed at promoting the CBD as a financial center.

• Making more land available for relocating of existing on-street parking to off-street

facilities and providing more pedestrian areas


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• Making more land available for residential purposes

However it should clearly be pointed out that the past practice of converting any available

land in prime locations, for more commercial activities should be stopped forthwith. Such

activities should be allowed only at locations where the capacity exist for providing the

required transport infrastructure and services (as discussed under the suitability of

development sites for Question # 2 above). In instances where such land is released in

areas where transport capacity is found to be deficient, then such land should be utilized to

provide more transport infrastructure and services as may be desired.


5-5

CHAPTER 5 : RECOMMENDATIONS

The recommendations of this study are set out in this chapter. They are designed to address

the issues raised in Chapter 3 and the rationale and strategy set out through the discussions

in Chapter 4. The recommendations are set out under the headings of (a) policy, (b) strategy

and (c) programs required achieving the desired objectives. This approach is intended to

convey the need to address these issues at all levels of planning, preparation and decision-

making.

5.1 Policy

The specific policy recommendations made under this study with respect to the further

development of Colombo City are:

(1) To rationalize further land development within Colombo City by ensuring that the balance

between development and transport capacity is maintained.

(2) To intervene in the provision of new transport infrastructure and to re-plan existing

services and public transport terminals to suit the recent changes that has occurred in

the development of Colombo City.

5.2 Strategy

The strategic recommendations following the above policies are as follows:

(1) To rationalize the re-development of State owned lands made vacant with the relocation

of the defense establishments and the wholesale market so that a balance can be

maintained between land development and transport infrastructure and service provision.

Such balance should take into consideration the entire city in general and the specific

areas (such as the CBD) in particular. This would follows overall guidelines for the city

development and provide for the following.

(a) Relocating all activities that have little contribution to, or integration with,

activities that are aimed at promoting the CBD as the financial center of

Colombo.

(b) Making part or all of such lands available for relocating on-street parking, LRT

systems, bus lanes and providing pedestrian facilities in areas where existing

road space is inadequate to provide for the transport requirements.

(c) Where land is not required for transport provision, by making more land

available for residential purposes.

(d) To provide for further commercial developments only in areas where exiting

transport needs can be met satisfactorily and also the needs resulting from

such developments can be met and sustained over the long-term.


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(2) To decentralize the public transport transfer function presently focused on Pettah to

another three locations due north-east, east and south-east of the city respectively, so

that the CBD ceases to be the only major transfer location for public transport in

Colombo. The long-distance and local bus services should then be re-routed so that the

centralized transfer function, which presently puts tremendous pressure on the CBD

area, is decentralized at least in part to the peripheral areas. Thus the city would be

serviced from the periphery as well as from the center, thereby reducing the need for

transfers, reducing travel times, and most importantly reducing the number of buses

entering, terminating and parking in the CBD area.

(3) To develop a set of public transport terminals and interchanges with the rail stations (a)

on the periphery of the city and (b) in suburban areas. Buses could then be re-routed

between these new termini, so that they pass through the city without terminating and

thereby avoid the blight of parked buses spread all over the city.

(4) To develop a major north-south transport artery with a number of inter-modal transfer

locations so that

(a) There is a good by-pass road avoiding the city and CBD areas for traffic that

does not need to enter the city.

(b) Public Transport services can use this artery as a major corridor and serve

the city from the periphery of the city inwards, and along which the new

transport terminals can be located and

(c) There is a transport artery that can distribute traffic eastwards to the City of

Colombo and westwards to the administrative area of Kotte.

5.3 Specific Projects/Actions

The following Specific Actions and Projects are recommended following the strategies listed

above:

5.3.1 Set Up a Hierarchy of New Public Transport

Terminals/Interchanges within the City

‘Under this proposal, the functions of the present transport interchange at Pettah

would be de-centralized to three new termini for long distance buses and a

hierarchy of smaller termini and public transport interchanges. So that the need

for buses to terminate at the city center and for transferring there would reduce

considerably. This will significantly reduce the present congestion caused by all

bus services hubbing at Pettah’.

A terminal is where a bus route or rail service would terminate. That is where there would a

complete emptying of the vehicle before a return trip or new trip is made. An interchange or

transfer point is where some passengers in a vehicle would transfer from one mode to

another (e.g. rail to bus) or between buses (long-distance to suburban). All terminals would


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by definition require to be transfer locations. However all transfer locations need not be

terminals. The location of terminals will determine where the other non-terminal transfer

locations would occur. Thus it is best to formulate a hierarchy of interchanges as defined

below and illustrated in Figure 5.1.

• 1st Order: An interchange providing terminal facilities for long-distance buses and rail,

which provides the highest form of interchange between all types of bus trips and with

rail. In addition it will provide terminal facilities for some suburban and local routes.

• 2nd Order: An interchange that will have railway connection, but would not be a terminal

for long-distance buses, but it will provide transfer facility to/from long distance to all local

and suburban bus routes but without railway. It will provide terminal facilities for

suburban and local routes but unlike the 1st Order interchanges, no long distance buses

will terminate here.

• 3rd Order: An interchange that will not have railway connection, and will provide only

interchange between suburban and local bus services but without being served by long

distance buses. Similar to 2nd order interchanges, it will provide terminal facilities only for

suburban and local buses.

• 4th Order: No buses or trains will terminate here. These are interchanges where rail bus

transfers are possible.

• 5th Order: Locations not served by rail, but only for bus to bus transfer. No buses will

terminate here.


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Figure 5.1: Schematic Diagram of the Ranking of Public Transport Interchanges


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For a proper arrangement of inter-modal transfer points and terminals in Colombo (or for that

matter in any city), a number of factors will have to be considered. It is therefore necessary

to identify the required characteristics of an efficient transfer point so that suitable locations

with such characteristics can be selected. These are listed as follows:

(a) The different transportation modes should be available at close proximity to each other.

Thereby the passengers will be able to transfer efficiently from one network of a

particular mode of transportation to another.

(b) The location should be able to provide a strong collector distributor function. That is, it

should have the capacity to provide and efficient transfer between collector modes such

as rail or long-distance bus and distribute to local bus or LRT (or vice versa).

(c) The location should be able to provide for a frequency of transport services that is high

enough to make the transfer point adequately served by existing services. That is, it

should not be too far from existing transport routes and traffic generators.

(d) In-order to justify a high frequency of service the level of land use development in the

area surrounding the transfer point should high but it should not be to a level that bus

and train services are in conflict with the transport needs of the immediate area.

(e) As a transfer point will generate considerable amount of traffic, the capacity of the

transportation network within the immediate area surrounding the transfer point should

be adequate to handle such traffic.

(f) Sufficient amount of land should be available to accommodate the functions of the

transfer point. The facilities required can be identified as,

• Terminal buildings with adequate facilities for the passengers

• Enough space to handle the circulation of a large number of road vehicles of

different types

(g) Parking space for vehicles such as three, wheelers, taxies and preferably a park

and ride system

PASSENGER MOVEMENT IN RELATION TO TRANSFER POINTS

It is also necessary to identify the type of passenger transfers that occur, so that different

types of interchange and transfer facilities can be provided at different locations. When

analyzing the available data (see summary in Section 2.1.3) on bus passenger movements

within the CBD area, one can identify several different types of movements.


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(a) Long distance passengers whose trip origins and destinations (trip ends) are both

outside the CMR Area– These are long distance to long distance transfer passengers

(e.g. Kandy to Galle) and accounts for only a very small (2%) proportion of the total

passenger movement in Pettah at present. The transfer of these trips can take place

anywhere, provided that a high frequency of long-distances buses can be maintained

and if a railway station is in the locality. Presently there are nearly 2,000 long-distance

buses terminating at Pettah. This is a large operation, even if one were to consider a

single terminal for long distance buses only (which cannot be, as feeder services are

also necessary). Thus it would be most advantageous to allow long-distance in several

locations.

(b) Long distance passengers who have one trip outside the CMR and the other trip

within Colombo or the Suburbs – These are transfer passengers from long distance to

local or suburban routes and vice-versa (e.g. Kurunegala to Ratmalana or Kurunegala to

Wellawatte). In this case, the transfers should occur at a place that will minimize the

distance and travel time of the passenger. Therefore it would be useful to have long-

distance passengers who have trip ends within the Colombo City transfer both at the

center of the city (i.e. Pettah) as well as at peripheral locations, as they can obtain the

most convenient local connection. In the case of those who have their trip ends in

suburban areas, it would be definitely more convenient to avoid having to go to the

center of the city and having to come back out again. Thus locating long-distance to local

and suburban transfer terminals at the center (Pettah) as well as two peripheral locations

would be most strategic. However a high frequency of local and suburban routes should

be providable at all such transfer terminals

(c) Suburban bus passengers who have both their trip ends located within the CMR

but not within Colombo City – These are transfer passengers from one suburb or

another suburb (e.g. Moratuwa to Ragama) of Colombo, but those who presently

transfer at Pettah. For these types of passengers there should be a bus route network

that can carry them directly without congesting the CBD of the City. As it is not practical

to provide routes to connect all possible points, it is necessary to have a number of

transfer points at suitable locations. The transfer points well suited for this should be

well away from the center of the city and preferably at the periphery.

(d) Passengers who have at least one-trip end within the City of Colombo – A

significant proportion of the passenger movements within the CBD accounts for this

category. However, much of this is short-distance and a number of strategically located

bus to rail and bus to bus transfer locations would help these trips. In addition well

planned routing would help in eliminating transfers all together.

This demonstrates the need to have the terminals performing different transfer functions

distributed across the city and its environs according to a specific order. Three clear criterion

appear to evolve from this analysis.


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Within City Transfer & Terminal Points: Several transfer only locations (4th and 5th Order)

locations should be located within the Colombo City and provide for transfer of people who

have their trip ends within Colombo. In addition, a few 1st,2nd and 3rd order terminal should

be identified at places that are most suitable for terminating such services. This will be

mostly for long-distance services, while suburban and local services will be encouraged to

run through to Peripheral and Outside Terminals (see below).

Peripheral Transfer & Terminal Points: Several transfer only locations should be located

just outside the city and provide for the transfer of persons travelling from radial to orbital

directions and vice versa. Such transfer points will reduce persons arriving into the city for

the purpose of making just a transfer. Some of these, with at least one on every entry point

to the city and particularly those where good railway connection can be provided, should be

developed in to a Terminal so that some of the buses running through the city can terminate

and turn around.

Outside City Transfer & Terminal Points: Many transfer only locations may be spread

throughout the region. These should be located well outside the city in suburbs where

sufficient bus traffic exists. Some of these transfer points, particularly where good railway

connections can be provided should be made in to a terminal so that buses running through

the city can terminate here are well.

SUITABLE LOCATIONS FOR TRANSFER POINTS

After considering the above-mentioned requirements, several locations that are found to

possess these some of these characteristics have been identified. Table 5.1 and Figure 5.2

gives a possible arrangement within a hierarchy as discussed earlier. The following features

will result from implementing this hierarchy.


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Table 5.1: Hierarchy of Public Transport Interchanges

Order Modes Location5

Railway Bus (Long Dist.) Bus (S & T)6 Within Colombo (W) Periphery of Colombo (P) Outside Colombo (O)

1st

(Terminal & Transfer) Terminating Or Transfer

Terminating Or Transfer


(W11) Fort-Pettah (W12) Dematagoda (W13) Narahenpita (W14) Borella

None in the Short Term

Not Located

2nd

(Terminal & Transfer) Transfer Only

Transfer Only


None

(P21) Kelaniya (P22) Battaramulla

7

(P23) Nugegoda (P24) Dehiwela

(O21) Ragama (O22) Pannipitiya (O23) Ratmalana

3rd

(Terminal & Transfer)

No Service Available

Transfer Only


(W31) Grandpass (W32) Pamankade

(P31) Kotikawatte (O31) Kadawatha (O32) Kaduwela (O33) Athurugiriya (O34) Borelesgamuwa

4th

(Interchange for Transfer Only)

Transfer Only

Transfer Only

Transfer Only

(W41) Slave Island (W42) Maradana (W43) Kirulapone (W44) Wellawatte (W45) Bambalapitiya (W46) Kollupitiya

Not located

Not located

5th

(Interchange for Transfer Only)

No Service Available

Transfer Only

Transfer Only

(W51) Fort (W52) Kotahena (W53) Armour Street (W54) Town Hall (W55) Tunmulla

Not located

Not located

5 The alphanumeric nomenclature used for location ID is based on the area (i.e W, P or O) and the Order of the Terminal/Interchange (i.r 1,,3,4 or 5) and the serial number. For

example, P23 refers to a Peripheral Location, 2nd

Order Terminal/Interchange and the 3rd

in that group. 6 (S&T) refers to Suburban and Local Routes

7 Assuming a long-term railway link as recommended in CMRSP


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Figure 5.2: Hierarchy of Public Transport Interchanges (Terminals and Transfer Locations)


5-14

A. Transfer & Terminal Points Within City.

The following transfer and terminal points are recommended for the City of Colombo.

Terminals

• Four Nos. of 1st Order terminals at Fort-Pettah, Dematagoda, Borella and

Narahenpita

• Two Nos. of 3rd Order terminals at Grandpass and Pamankade

• No other terminals would be allowed within the city.

• Six Nos. of 4th Order transfer locations adjacent to the railway stations at Maradana,

Slave Island, Kirulapone, Wellawatte, Bambalapitiya and Kollupitiya. In other words

all railway stations within the city should be developed as strong transfer only

locations. This means that buses arriving at such locations should only be allowed to

wait till their schedule departure for the return trip and they should not be allowed to

terminate and idle so that they get back to the Peripheral or Outside terminals to end

their round trip.

• Five Nos. of 5th Order transfer locations where bus-to-bus transfers can be made

should also be developed. These have been identified at Fort, Kotahena, Armour

Street, Town Hall and Tunmulla. In this case, buses would not be allowed to even

wait (as an 4th Order transfer locations).

Fort-Pettah (W11): The Pettah terminal should be moved closer to Fort and form a single

interchange, if required on two levels. This we will call Fort-Pettah. This will ease much

pedestrian traffic across Olcott Mawatha and throughout Pettah area.

These additional features of this terminal will be that:

• The suburban and local buses will be discouraged from terminating here and thus they

will be routed through cross-town to other Within (W), Peripheral (P) and Outside (O)

terminals. This will prevent the road congestion due to a large numbers of parked buses

resulting from local and suburban buses terminating n Pettah.

• Only around 50% of the long –distance buses (i.e. around 1,000) buses will terminate

here (compared to the nearly 9,000 at present) and parking requirements would be

limited to around 100 buses (from between 300 to 500) now.

Dematagoda (W12), Narahenpita (W13) and Borella (W14): The Dematagoda terminal

can be built on land adjacent to the railway station and a reasonably good access is

available through the old Baseline Road below the overpass at this point. There are center

median openings for U-turns as well as the width of the center median below the bridge can

also accommodate some terminal facilities as well.

The Narahenpita terminal can either be constructed (a) adjacent to the existing railway

station after the relocation of the informal settlements that are to be found in the vicinity or

(b) as a new railway cum bus terminal adjacent to the Nawala Road (where the rail crossing

is available, perhaps with an overpass like Dematagoda to avoid the problems of queuing


5-15

due to longer gate closures close to stations). The bus terminals presently located next to

the Labour Secretariat and also on-Baseline Road needs to be brought here.

The terminal at Borella may be located adjacent to the Cotta Road Railway Station.

However, this may be difficult as, the land is occupied by commercial and residential

buildings. Thus, a better location would be adjacent to the Parliament Road near the

Welikada railway crossing. Here too an overpass can be built and the terminal that can

accommodate both buses and provide a railway station can be built. Land can be made

available as informal settlements and State lands are most predominant here.

The additional features and changes to the public transport service would be:

• These three terminals are designed to absorb the termination of the balance half

(after Pettah-Fort) of the long-distance buses (i.e. around 1,000 for all three). The

route and termination points would be so selected that the buses run through either

the center of the city or its periphery and terminate at the end furthest to their point of

entry to the city. For example, a bus from Kandy would enter the City at the New

Kelani Bridge run through Dematagoda and say terminates at Narahenpita-the

furthers of the terminals. It could even run through Fort-Pettah and terminate at

Narahenpita or Borella. There is sufficient flexibility since the termination points are

close to each other and to Fort-Pettah and the road network is dense enough to route

buses through different terminals so that the transfer to local and suburban buses is

streamlined. Under this arrangement a passenger taking a bus to Kandy could get in

at either Fort-Pettah or at Narahenpita or at Borella. In the future as reserved seating

facilities are introduced, passengers could board and occupy seats at the

Dematagoda terminal as well, if the bus is routed through it.

• These three terminals are also well located to route many suburban and local routes

through them. With the opening up of Baseline Road, buses plying on any radial

corridor can be routed via the Baseline Road either to run through these terminals or

to terminate at one of them. For example, there could be services such as Panadura

to Borella via Ratmalana and the Baseline Road extension. It could run through both

Narahenpita and Borella terminals. Or else, a service between Hanwella to

Narahenpita can operate via the Low Level Road passing the terminals at

Dematagoda and Borella.

• This would result in developing the Baseline Road as a major bus corridor with both

long-distance and suburban/local buses overlapping as they run north-south on the

Baseline Road. This is an ideal situation as east-west to north-south transfers can be

made through the three terminals at Dematagoda, Borella and Narahenpita.

Grandpass (W31) and Pamankade (W32): The Grandpass terminal can be located on land

that could be made available with the resettlement of informal housing in that vicinity, while

in the case of Pamankade, the former GOBU of Wellawatte Spinning & Weaving Mills site is

a most suitable location. The latter site can generate access from Galle Road (either through

High Street Wellawatte or through an extension along the Canal of Dharmarama Road

(opposite Savoy Cinema) and it is after the point of merger of both the Horana Road and


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High Level Road. This 14-acre site though handed over to the BOI for mixed development

should be reconsidered, so that at least a part of it is developed as a Bus Terminal. The

UDA in 1997 has made a conceptual plan for developing this site as a bus terminal for

operating a Park and Ride as well.

Grandpass and Pamankade are two points of entry that would not have 1st order terminal

facilities within the city. They do not have railway connections and hence can only be

classified as a lower order. But these two locations are strategically placed to effect transfers

at points of entry to Colombo City. These will complement the Terminals at Dematagoda,

Borella and Narahenpita. The Grandpass Terminal can be used by buses approaching from

the Kandy and Negombo Corridors, while the Pamankade Terminal can be used by buses

arriving on the Galle Road, Horana Road and High Level Road Corridors.

B. Terminal Points on the Periphery of the City

• Four Nos. 2nd Order Terminals at Kelaniya (P21), Battaramulla (P22), Nugegoda

(P23) and Dehiwela (P24) &

• One Nos. 3rd Order Terminal at Kotikawatte (P31)

These terminals represent one each for the five major radial corridors. The terminals are

recommended for setting up at the Periphery of the city so that buses plying through the city

can terminate at the periphery of the city. Locations just outside the city are important to

allow buses to turn around for a second short-run peak period trip in the opposite direction.

These terminals would not have long distance buses starting, however, the 2nd Order

transfer locations would be well integrated with the railway, while the 3rd Order center is

distinct in that it does not have a railway connection. In the case of Battaramulla, even

though it does not have a rail connection at present, it shall be identified as one having such

in the future, as a rail line extending eastwards of the city is recommended in the CMRSP

and elsewhere in this report (see section 5.3.5).

Adequate land could be found at Kelaniya, Battaramulla and Kotikawatte for setting up

altogether new transfer locations adjacent to the existing railway stations. However in the

case of Nugegoda and Dehiwela, there are presently bus terminals already located

alongside railway stations. However in both these cases, the bus terminals could be further

developed and perhaps integrated in to a single building incorporating the railway station, so

that more bus platforms could be provided.

C. Terminal Points on the Outside of the Periphery of the City

• Three Nos. 2nd Order Terminals at Ragama (O21), Pannipitiya (O22) and Ratmalana

(O23) and

• Three Nos. 3rd Order Terminals at Kadawatha (O31) Kaduwela (O32) and

Athurugiriya (O33) are recommended in the areas outside the Periphery of the City.

These would be major turn around terminals and would generally require a fairly large extent

of land for parking and waiting etc. Thus new land should be taken over for this purpose.


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These terminals would be the terminal for trips such as Ragama to Ratmalana or Dehiwela

to Kadawatha or Grandpass to Pannipitiya routes. These would essentially be cross-town

routes where the terminal outside the city would provide the facilities for waiting and parking.

In addition to this, it would be necessary to develop the existing terminals in town centers

such as Moratuwa, Panadura, Maharagama, Kottawa, Kiribathgoda, Ja Ela etc so these too

can provide terminal facilities to the extent of the space available for this purpose. The

priority at such terminals should be for local services terminating at those town centers

rather than those servicing the city.

5.3.2 New Road Links, Particularly Baseline Road Extension

to Ratmalana

The most important linkage required for this new transport hierarchy is a high

quality north-south link between Kelaniya and Ratmalana. The RDA in the form

of the Baseline Road extension has proposed this, but which has now run in to

protest over land acquisition. This linkage should be pursued with all vigor as it

provides the spinal chord to serve Colombo City from its eastern periphery. It will

also serve the two most adjacent and key suburbs of Colombo namely the Sri-

Jayawardenapura-Kotte MC and the Dehiwela-Mt Lavinia MC that it will border.

As shown in the figure, it is this road that will provide the locations for the many

points of interchange for public transport and its absence will drastically affect

the proposed strategy and constrain the growth of the entire region.

NEW LINKS PROPOSED

To further improve the situation with respect to highway-based transportation within the CBD

area, and its immediate suburbs, several new road links have been identified. The proposed

new links are indicated in the Figure 5.3 and outlined as follows:

• Completion of the Base Line Road up to Ratmalana – In-order to complete the Base

Line Road as a spinal north-south artery that will connect all the radial corridors (both

road and rail), a new road should be constructed from Kirulapone to Ratmalana (Figure

5.4). Even though this segment of road is not within the CBD area, it is an essential link

for the proper functioning of the transportation network within the CBD. This will have a

number of positive transport impacts;

Figure 5.3: New Road Links Proposed


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Figure 5.4: Baseline Road Extension and Transport Integration


5-19

a) significantly reduce traffic bypassing the city;

b) provide a connection for feeding the proposed 1st order public transport terminals at

Narahenpita, Borella and Dematagoda all located on the Baseline Road and

c) provide a spinal artery that will distribute traffic on the east to the Kotte UC area and

on the wets to CMC.

• Link connecting T. B. Jayah Mawatha and Vauxhall Street – This link has been

proposed with the objective of reducing the traffic congestion on the junction connecting

the Union Place and T.B. Jayah Mawatha (Ibbanwela). This link is also important if the

area is to be considered for an one-way road network.

• Additional Link near Lake House Building connecting Olcott Mawatha and D.R.

Wijewardena Mawatha over the railway line – This link is an essential connection in-

order to have a conflict free flow in the surrounding area. Without this link a complex set

of elevated structures will be necessary to have such a conflict free flow or several

conflicting intersections controlled by traffic lights will be necessary. This section will be

in grade as it has to cross the railway line. But the level difference between the two roads

would reduce the amount of grade required.

• Overpass or Underpass near the Slave Island Railway Station – At present the

vehicular flow through the level crossing at-grade, near the Slave Island Railway Station

is frequently disturbed by the rail operations. This problem will be further worsened when

the frequency of the railway operations increases and with relaxation of the security

restrictions within the area. The area surrounding the Slave Island Railway Station has

also been identified as an area for further land use development. Therefore an

over/under pass will be essential to facilitate a smooth flow of traffic from the Galle Road

corridor to Slave Island area and vice versa.

• Link from Slave Island Railway Station to Olcott Mawatha across the Beira Lake

and the Main Railway Line - This link will provide a direct connection from the NE of

Beira to the SW of Beira and vice versa and also a connection between the D.R.

Wijewardena Mawatha and Olcott Mawatha. Therefore it will significantly reduce the

congestion experienced at the road intersections at the four corners of the Beira Lake.

However to have such a link, some of the informal settlements within the area of Slave

Island will have to be re-located. This will also create a new image for the city, with a

road section crossing the Beira so that the water body and the CBD area can be seen

from this section of road.

• Development of Pradeepa Mawatha as a Six Lane East-West Artery: This road can

be properly designed as a six-lane artery connecting Baseline Road to Pettah and

Maradana via Panchikawatte roundabout. Due to the heavy flow of buses that will ply on

this road between Pettah-Fort terminal and Dematagoda, it is advisable to construct a

dedicated bus lane on this road.

• Widening of Stace Road: The State Road another east-west corridor should be

widened to a proper four lane road from Baseline Road to Jetawana Road via Layards

Broadway. This will provide for the increased east-west traffic flows that will result with


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the development of the wholesale markets at Orugodawatte and also by locating a new

bus terminal at Dematagoda.

• Widening of Park Road and Redesigning intersection with Havelock Road: This

would also be needed to be developed as a four-lane road, in the east-west direction. It

will strengthen ties between the proposed terminals at Narahenpita and Pamankade

• Link between Baladaksha Mawatha and Lotus Road: This will require a bridge over

the Beira spillway approach. It would provide an easing of traffic over old parliament

junction.

5.3.3 Revise Bus Routes to suit new Transport Terminal

Arrangement and Areas of Growth

Presently, much of the congestion in the city center arises out of a large number

of buses terminating and parking at the city center. Under the proposed

hierarchy of terminals and transfers, only a fraction of these services need to

terminate at the center as most services including some long-distance buses can

either run through Pettah or terminate at Peripheral Terminals. The re-routing of

local bus services through these termini will lead to a reduction of travel that is

presently made through the city center only for the purpose of transfer.

In-order to improve the public transportation system based on buses, a number of alterations

will have to be considered to the routing of buses following the relocation of public transport

terminals and transfer locations. This arrangement should be in accordance with the

proposed inter-modal transfer points and the integrated transport plan.

POSSIBLE ARRANGEMENT OF BUS ROUTES WITHIN THE CBD

(a) Presently the CBD area is served by a large number of high frequency bus routes such

as 100, 101, 138, 174, 200, 240 etc. Most of these routes are running along the main

radial corridors. However each of these routes serves only a limited area within the CBD.

Therefore some of the bus passengers coming along the main corridors will have to

either walk long distances or interchange at certain points to get to their destination

within the CBD. This situation will be reduced to a certain level by re-arranging the routes

in such a manner where the individual routes will split at certain locations after the

Peripheral Terminals. So that they take different routes within the CBD area and re-

converge at an end point such as Pettah. The possible arrangements for some routes

have been indicated in the Figure 5.5. For example:

- Bus routes along the Galle Road such as 100, 101 etc. can be split at

Bambalapitiya and re-converge at Pettah.

Figure 5.5: Bus Routing Arrangement for Radial-Orbital Overlapping


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- Bus routes along the High-Level Road such as 138, 122, 125 etc can be split at

Tunmulla Junction and re-converge at Pettah.

- Bus routes coming from Battaramulla to the CBD such as 170, 174, 175, 177,

190 etc. can be split at Borella and re-converge at Pettah and Bambalapitiya.

- Bus routes along the A1 (Kandy Road) and A3 (Negombo Road) such as 200,

240 etc can be split at Peliyagoda and re-converge at Pettah.

(b) Presently most of the bus routes operating within the CBD area terminate at Pettah and

only a few bus routes run through Pettah requiring some of the passengers to transfer at

Pettah in-order to get to their destinations. This situation could be reduced to a certain

level by arranging the bus routes to run through Pettah to the other side of the CBD. This

can be arranged by combining the certain routes running in different directions from the

CBD. Further, this arrangement will reduce the number of buses terminating and the

requirement for parking at the center of the CBD. The possible arrangements have been

indicated in the Figure 5.6.

POSSIBLE ARRANGEMENT OF BUS ROUTES OUTSIDE THE CBD

Presently the service provided by public transportation on orbital roads is considerably low

compared to the radial roads, mainly due to the low demand for orbital direction. This

situation could be reduced to a certain extent by combining some of the services in the radial

direction with orbital directions. These could be services starting and ending at different (O)

type terminals located outside the city (e.g. between Ratmalana and Battaramulla). Also the

Peripheral Terminals can be used for this purpose. Some other examples of such services

are:

− Homagama – Maharagama – Borelesgamuwa – Dehiwela – Colombo.

− Homagama – Nugegoda – Kalubowila - Colombo.

− Homagama – Kirulapone – Wellawatte – Colombo.

− Homagama – Pannipitiya – Battaramulla – Borella – Colombo.

− Homagama – Kirillapone - Borella – Colombo.

− Homagama – Delkanda – Old Kesbewa Rd – Nawala Rd – Narahenpita – Kirula Rd

– Thimbirigasyay Rd - Thummulla – Colombo.

− Horana – Piliyandala – Katubedda – Colombo.

− Horana - Borelesgamuwa – Kalubowila – Colombo.

− Horana – Kirulapone – Wellawatte – Colombo.

− Horana – Piliyandala – Maharagama – Pannipitiya-Battaramulla.

− Horana – Rattanapitiya – Delkanda – Colombo.

− Panadura – Ratmalana – (Base-Line) – Borella - Colombo.

− Panadura – Ratmalana –(Base-Line) - Kirillapone – Colombo.

− Panadura – Wellawatte – Kirulapone – Colombo.


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Figure 5.6: Bus Routing through Pettah


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5.3.4 Development of a LRT System

‘The LRT or Tram system will provide sustainability for the strategy in the long-

term. In this respect, even though this is an expensive project, it can be built up

in stages. The primary function of this system would be to attract the car user to

a high-quality public transport mode. The routes that have been identified for the

LRT in CUTS 2 provide a good arrangement of collector-distributor features

between the radial corridors and different parts in the city. It is also integrated

with the bus and railways to the fullest extent possible’.

Light Rapid Transit (LRT) is a rail guided tram system that can operate with or without a

separate right of way. In the former case, they are relatively inexpensive. But, they are

slower and carry lower volumes of passengers. LRT, when grade separated can carry

substantial volumes. Many cities worldwide are adopting rapid transit systems to supplement

bus and railways. They usually offer a high quality ride and offer a potential for attracting

private vehicular traffic as well as short distance traffic in town centers.

For circulatory movement within Colombo City (particularly in the orbital directions), the LRT

can be recommended as a street operation. This would be more consistent with the lower

level of demand, shorter trip lengths and the intrinsically lower demand for speed for orbital

travel. The circulatory LRTs within the CMC would then be mostly a combined radial-orbital

type. They would be at-grade systems utilizing existing street space or along canal banks

such as the possibility for linking Narahenpita and Wellawatte.

However, in the case of the radial transport demands for Colombo, the volumes necessary

to support MRT or Grade-separated LRT volumes would, according to the Masterplan of

CUTS 2 be achieved in the next 20 years in four of the corridors. These four corridors have

been identified as

− Galle Road (up to Ratmalana)

− Kotte/Parliament Road (up to Battaramulla/Pelawatte)

− High Level Road (up to Pannipitiya)

− Negombo Road (up to Negombo/Airport)

A LRT system on the radial corridors will then complement the orbital LRT system. Hence a

single system can operate both the corridors and the circulation within the city. For these

four corridors, grade separated LRTs appear to be the most logical alternative. All other

modes of transport cannot provide the ultimate comfort, access, capacity and speed that

modern urban transport requires. In this case, it may be considered prudent to invest in such

a system straight away, rather than experiment with systems that are essentially viable only

for a short duration.

In such a light, LRT can be supported over MRT, Bus Lanes, Improved Rail and indeed

more roads on four corridors. This is except where the suburban rail is well established to


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provide a competitive service as discussed before. There are three corridors namely the

Galle Road Corridor; Sri Jayawardenapura corridor and the High Level Corridor that appear

to justify a LRT within the next 10 years.

In the case of the Galle Road, the demand base is essentially there even at present. In the

case of the Sri Jayawardenapura corridor, the demand levels are still not adequate for

financial considerations. However, the fact remains that there is no rail service as yet in this

direction. As a first step to increase the demand, the present road maybe widened to six

lanes. Alternately, a rail link can also be developed from Dematagoda to Pannipitiya (as

discussed elsewhere in this report). Then as demand grows, LRT could be introduced

together with traffic restraint measures to divert road traffic to LRT.

The High Level Road on the other hand, has sufficient demand to justify a LRT in the next 10

years. Thus it seems most prudent for a LRT to replace the KV Line. Up to say Pannipitiya.

Such a line can take the route from Fort via Maradana to Borella (on Maradana Road), then

Baseline Road to Narahenpita, then KV Line right of Way to Pannipitiya. (So that the new KV

railway line is connected to Colombo from Pannipitiya via Battaramulla, Rajagiriya and

Dematagoda- as recommended in Section 5.3.5). This reason further justifies the choice of

LRT over MRT, as the poor alignment of the existing KV line would not support a MRT.

The proposed system of LRT for the corridors and the CMC are given in Figure 5.7.

5.3.5 Improvements to the Railway Services, particularly

its Quality and Capacity

‘The railway will be increasingly required to provide a fast commuting link between

residential areas and employment centers. It is even presently well located for this purpose.

But improvements in service provision in the form of higher capacity (both track and rolling

stock), reliability and good interchange with bus (and LRT in the future) would be necessary.

A new link to form a radial in the eastern direction to serve the Rajagiriya, Kotte and

Pelawatte areas seems viable. Relocation of stations in the CBD may also be necessary’


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Figure 5.7: Proposed System of LRT


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Figure 5.8: Rail Improvements in CBD


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Even though the rail system has lost its passenger share over the years, it continues to

possess the essential competitive features especially on the Main and the Coastal Lines.

Thus improving both the track, signaling and having more rolling stock will provide an

opportunity of increasing the carriage of rail passengers. The double tracking of the line to

Negombo will also provide more capacity. The Kelani Valley Line on the other hand, has

extremely poor geometry. It is single track. Double tracking or improving its geometry does

not appear to give adequate returns in increase of passenger carrying capacity or increased

speeds. This track does not have the potential to compete adequately with road transport in

this corridor. It is more amenable to use this right of way for a LRT where it is found to be

suitable.

Thus a new ‘Loop Railway’ has been proposed in the CMRSP. This is to commence in

Ratmalana and head eastwards to Pannipitiya where it will take a route via Battaramulla,

Rajagiriya to Dematagoda. A part of the railway line exists up to the oil refinery at

Sapugaskande. This will be an important long-term connection that would transform the

railway in part to an orbital cum radial network rather than having all lines terminating at Fort.

However, in the short-term the most important link would be the radial extension from

Dematagoda to Pannipitiya via Battaramulla, where the KV line can be met. So that this

journey which now takes nearly one hour can be done in half that time. The existing KV line

between Dematagoda and Pannipitiya can then be converted to a LRT.

As discussed in section 5.3.1, the Fort-Pettah bus/rail station should be a strong nexus. The

present location is more suited for serving Pettah. It does not provide easy access to areas

such as Fort, Parsons Road, Gunasinghapura. Thus the following recommendations are

made.

(a) Develop Fort Rail Station Area eastwards to integrate with a Bus Terminal.

(b) Develop the secretarial Halt to serve the Fort and Parsons Road areas.

(c) Investigate the potential for a new halt between Fort and Maradana to serve

Gunasinghapura area and D.R. Wijewardena/Beira Lake development.

5.3.6 Measures to Improve Traffic Management, including

One-way and Parking Arrangements

‘Traffic Management is a favored approach in many cities world-wide as opposed

to attempts to build new roads or widen existing roads. This proposal entails the

revision of traffic flows particularly on a uni-directional that would reduce conflicts

at intersections. This is a preferred option in a city where interchanges (fly-overs)

are not compatible with the landscape. It also means the reduction of on-street

parking and the re-design of roads and intersections in the city center to allow a

smoother flow of vehicles at a moderate speed. It would also include the

construction of missing links in the road network such as a connection over the

Beira 2. This link in particular will have a significant impact as the present traffic

congestion is dominant around the four corners of the Beira Lake and a through


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route will relieve areas such as Town Hall, Slave Island, Maradana and Lake

House Roundabout of traffic congestion’.

A proper highway based transportation plan is extremely important for an efficient

transportation system for the Colombo city and the CBD area. The improvement of the

highway based transportation system could be broadly categorized into different sections.

IMPROVEMENTS TO EXISTING HIGHWAY NETWORK

At present the capacity of most of the roads within the CBD area is not sufficient to meet the

traffic demand. This situation is critical especially during the morning peak and the evening

peak. There are several measures that could be taken to improve the condition of traffic flow.

• Restricting on-street parking – Presently the two outer-most lanes of most roads within

the CBD area have been used for on-street parking. By restricting such parking it is

possible to increase the capacity by increasing the number of lanes by two on most of

the roads within the area, thus making them either six lane or four lane roads. However,

with this restriction it is also necessary to provide facilities for parking by alternative

means such as under ground or multi-level car parks at several locations within the area.

• Off-street Parking Facilities- For the traffic flow arrangement recommended in the next

section (and shown in Figure 5.9), the parking within the Fort area would be best located

inside of the ring road -around 150 meters would be optimum. The amount of parking

spaces to be provided should also be carefully considered. For the present level of land-

use activity in Fort, a total of not more than 3,000 spaces are recommended. Some

suitable locations where land for such could also be found are shown in Figure 5.9.

• Provide better facilities for Pedestrians – Presently due to various reasons, some of

the space available for vehicles is being used by pedestrians on certain roads within the

CBD area. It is possible to increase the capacity and the free flow on the roads

significantly, by providing separated facilities for pedestrians and for vehicles, so that the

friction between them is reduced.

• Reducing turning conflicts and introducing one-way systems – The capacity of the

road network within the CBD area could be significantly improved by reducing conflicts in

vehicular movements. This can be achieved by either restricting right turns to a certain

extent, controlling the intersections with traffic lights and introducing conflict free

arrangements with one-way systems.

• Widening the existing roads – The capacity could be also increased by widening the

roads within the CBD area and for some roads this is more important than others.

However, the ability to widen the roads within the area is limited due to the high level of

land use development on either side of the roads.

ARRANGEMENT OF TRAFFIC FLOW

Presently the Colombo city and the CBD area experience a considerable level of congestion

especially during the peak period. Too many conflicting intersections are one of the main


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reasons for this situation. Therefore to reduce this certain areas within the CBD could be

considered for conflict free one-way road network. A possible arrangement is indicated in the

Figure 5.9.

5.3.7 Identification of areas for future Land-Use

Development in Colombo

‘Within the Colombo Business District, it is possible to identify several locations

for further land use development. The level and the type of development that is

suitable for these locations will depend on various factors such as the present

land use pattern, close proximity to water bodies and other recreational functions

and the capacities of the transportation networks’.

The regions that the UDA has provided for consideration (in this study) for development

includes Colombo-2 (Slave Island), Colombo-3 (Kollupitiya) and a part of Colombo-10

(Maradana). These are land to be made available from the relocation of the defense

establishments and informal housing, and some railway lands.

In-order to consider for the type and level of development, sustainable from a point of view of

accessibility and mobility, this region has been further sub-divided according to their different

characteristics. These different areas are indicated in Figure 5.10 given below.

Colombo-2 (Slave Island)

− 2A - Area adjoining Chittampalam Gardiner Mawatha.

− 2B – Area between the Beira Lake and Chittampalam Gardiner Mw.

− 2C - Area around the Slave Island railway station.

− 2D - Area adjoining Union Place and Vauxhall Street.

− 2E - Area within Union Place, Dharmapala Mw. and Sir James Peiris Mw.

Colombo-3 (Kollupitiya)

− 3A - On either side of Baladaksha Mawatha.

− 3B - Area within Perahera Mw., Dharmapala Mw. and the railway line.

Part of Colombo-10 (Maradana)

− 10A - On either side of D.R. Wijewardena Mawatha.

− 10B - Area adjoining T.B.Jayah Mawatha and Deans Road.


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Figure 5.9 : Traffic Flow in CBD


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Figure 5.10: Traffic Flow to/from CBD


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Figure 5.11: Areas Identified for Development within the CBD (by UDA)


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The proposed development will generate new employment within the area and as a result

more traffic could be expected. This will cause a number of problems both within the area

under consideration and outside the area.

• Say, if 100,000 new trips were generated with this new development it possible to

assume that approximately 20,000 will be using private vehicles. This will add at least

12,000 private vehicles to the existing corridors if all of them are coming from outside the

area under consideration and as a result travel speed on the corridors will further reduce.

• The increased traffic will add to the congestion that is already existing at the junction

connecting Union Place, Sir James Peiris Mawatha and Kumaran Ratnam Road,

intersections near Town hall, intersections near Maradana Railway station and

intersections near the Lake House building.

• The main reason for this expected congestion within the area is the presence of the

Beira Lake separating the proposed locations of development. For the traffic to access

locations north of Beira Lake such as the proposed development on either side of

D.R.Wijewardena Mawatha from the southern part of the city will have to go around the

Lake and vise versa.

In-order to avoid or reduce the expected problems, several proposals can be considered.

(i) Maintaining the balance between employment and housing along with the

proposed development. The people who will consider using these luxury apartments

within the city mostly would be working in the city and also are very unlikely to use

public transportation. Therefore if this balance is maintained along with the proposed

development, the adverse effects that could be expected along the main corridors due

to private vehicles will be reduced.

(ii) Introducing a new link from Slave Island railway station to Olcott Mawatha

across Beira Lake. This will significantly reduce the expected congestion at the

junctions that were identified earlier, as the traffic from the southern part of the city can

access north of Beira Lake through this link, by passing the junctions. This will also

create a new image for the city. (This has been discussed and recommended earlier in

Section 5.3.2)

(iii) Shifting the activity of the main railway station eastwards and in to the proposed

bus terminal. This will strongly connect the two modes of transport and will be able

offer the capital city a new ultra modern multi-model transport terminal. This will also

significantly improve the link between the proposed high density development on either

side of the D.R.Wijewardena Road and the proposed transport terminal due to its

central location in relation to the considered area for such development. This too has

been recommended in Section 5.3.1.

(iv) Upgrading the Secretariat halt and introducing a new halt between Fort and Maradana

will allow the areas in their close proximity to be developed for high density commercial

land use.


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RECOMMENDED LAND FOR FUTURE DEVELOPMENT

If the above measures are implemented together with the other Policy and Strategy

recommendations, some more development could be allowed within the city. The extent of

this depends on the policies that are adopted. However, the following recommendations are

made to the suitability of lands available.

(a) On either sides of Baladaksha Mawatha. This area will be available after the proposed

relocation of the Army Head Quarters. This location is fairly isolated from most of the

transport corridors compared to other areas is within a very short distance from the sea

front and other recreational areas. Therefore the location is more suitable for high-rise

buildings with luxury apartments.

(b) Area around the Slave Island railway station. This area will be available after the

proposed relocation of the present informal settlements. This location is more suitable for

with high-density commercial activity mainly due to its close proximity with the Slave

Island railway station and the proposal for a transfer interchange there. Also new road

infrastructure is proposed so that the road capacity in the local areas will increase.

(c) On either sides of D.R.Wijewardena Mawatha. This stretch is also very suitable for

high-density commercial activity due to its close proximity with the proposed multi-modal

transport terminal. The link across the railway will provide the required road capacity.

The proposed new railway halt will provide rail access.

(d) Area adjoining T.B.Jayah Mawatha and Deans Road. More suitable for medium

density commercial activity.

(e) Area adjoining Union Place and Vauxhall Street. More suitable for medium density

commercial activity as no direct rail access is available.

(f) Area within Union Place, Dharmapala Mawatha and Sir James Peiris Mawatha.

More suitable for mixed luxury residential and medium density commercial activity.

(g) Area within Perahera Mawatha, Dharmapala Mawatha and the railway line. More



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Figure 5.12: Areas Recommended for Future Development

Documents

TRANSPORT STRATEGY FOR THE DEVELOPMENT … urban center in the country and has been the Primate City in Sri Lanka for several ... Transport Strategy for the Development of Colombo