A 'Media Tree' grows in Smart City Coimbatore, model roads garner huge footfall

COIMBATORE: A nearly 11-m high metallic steel tower topped with a curved LED screen -- dubbed as 'Media Tree' -- has been erected in the city's posh Race Course Road area to disseminate public information and double up as an entertainment platform.

The eye-catching structure has been raised at the Thomas Park junction as part of a Smart City project to develop model roads, senior officials here said.

"As part of the Smart City project, we have developed two roads as 'Model Roads'. One is in the residential area -- Race Course Road while another is in the commercial area -- D B Road," M Prathap, CEO, Coimbatore Smart City project, told PTI here.

Prathap, also the city's Municipal Commissioner, added that measures were taken to make these roads pedestrian-friendly spaces and vintage-styled streetlights have been installed to "bring an aesthetic look".

The timeline for each project was around two years, and three more similar projects are in the pipeline, the roads being Raja Street, Town Hall Road and Cross Cut Road, he said.

Installed as part of the Smart City project, the 'Media Tree' in the redeveloped Race Course Road is drawing a lot of eyeballs. Many people can be seen stopping by to click selfies around the structure.

Speaking about the motive behind this installation, Prathap said, "This tower which has a curved LED screen on top will display information related to all central and state government schemes as well as messages related to public campaigns on sanitation, healthcare, etc. It can also be used to display entertainment content." The content that will be displayed on its screen will be controlled directly from the Integrated Control and Command Centre (ICCC) located in a building of the Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation (CCMC) in the RS Puram area.

An official from the third-party company who worked on the project said the 'Media Tree' is about 11.6 m high and the diameter of the curved LED structure mounted on the tower is 9.08 m, while the height of the screen is 2.4 m. There are over 5,000 LED nodes embedded in it, producing a dazzling colour effect.

The 360-degree LED display on the top of the 'Media Tree' is a "naked eye 3D display which is being used in a public space for the first time in India", according to information shared by Coimbatore Smart City Limited (CSCL).

Both CCMC and CSCL officials are hopeful that the 'Media Tree' and the two model roads will become major tourist attractions in the city.

Prathap said D B Road and Race Course Road have become great public gathering spots.

Around 3,000-4,000 people visit the Race Course Road on weekdays and the footfall crosses 10,000 on weekends, he added.

At D B Road in R S Puram, a vintage-style clocktower has been installed at a street junction near the municipal building housing the ICCC.

"The government of India had released a list of 75 best urban spaces under the Smart City Mission. Six spaces of Coimbatore featured among these 75 spaces, including the two model roads here," the Coimbatore Smart City CEO said.

The authorities are also revamping road junctions under the Smart City project.

At the junction of East Club Road and West Club Road, a major design change was made to ensure safe movement of vehicles. The junction area was redeveloped and a huge musical fountain spread over a circle measuring 44 feet in diameter was installed, an official of CSCL said.

Asked about the response of the local vendors to the idea of model roads, Municipal Commissioner Prathap said, "Initially there was fear among them that we might push them out, so we have designated a few vending zones. Also, few areas earmarked for vendors have been barricaded." Meetings were held with shopkeepers, traders, merchants association, R S Puram Association and RANA (Race Course Neighbourhood Association) to keep their needs in mind. Initially, they resisted, fearing that the road length will be reduced, but now they understand the value of pedestrian-friendly spaces, Prathap said.

Amenities at the two model roads include segregated footpaths, cycle tracks, on-street parking management, interactive or multi-purpose spaces, bus shelter, drinking water facilities, public toilets, seating spaces, music and sound system, open gym equipment, children's play area, and electronic display boards for disseminating information, officials said.