No Metrorail landing on footpath: Dhaka North Mayor
The mayor has proposed a transit-oriented development concept, with modern technology, with public space and an underground car park
Dhaka North Mayor Md Atiqul Islam said the landing (exit) of a Metrorail station cannot be on the sidewalk because that would shrink the sidewalk and commuters will suffer.
After inspecting the MRT-6 station at Mirpur-10 on Sunday, the mayor told reporters, "There will be no Metrorail exit on the footpath. We have come to determine how the previous plan can be modified to set up stairs, elevators, and escalators here."
He proposed a transit-oriented development concept, with modern technology, adjacent to the Dhaka North regional office, where there would be a public space and underground car parking.
"We want to acquire space from the city corporation regional office here, following government procedures, to build a four or five-story underground car park. Above that there will be public open space, allowing people to park their motorcycle or car here to use Metrorail," he added.
He said it would also be a junction for changing routes and a meeting place for people travelling on Metro-5 or Metro-6.
The authorities have not yet started the infrastructure work of putting in stairs as planned, at the Shewrapara and Kazipara metro stations in Mirpur. After Line-6, work on the Northern Route of MRT Line-5 is expected to be completed in 2026.
Construction of Kazipara and Shewrapara stations will start soon. Dhaka North is setting up a multimodal hub in Mirpur-10, combining two stations of MRT Line-5 and Line-6, said Atiqul.
The MRT project director said the infrastructural build-out of Line-6 will start soon, after overcoming the complexities of the two stations.
