In civic plans, pedestrians lie forgotten
ON MOST ROADS, PAVEMENTS ARE EITHER NONEXISTENT OR ARE USURPED BY HAWKERS, SHOPKEEPERS LEAVING LITTLE SPACE FOR PEOPLE TO WALK
I have for long argued that our bureaucrats and ministers should walk to work at least once a month. I wish to reiterate that once again this week, because so long as they do not walk, they will never realize the plight of pedestrians in our cities and towns and therefore will not provide safe and unhindered pathways for pedestrian movement.
Today, we are building world class highways and expressways and widening existing roads to facilitate better traffic movement. But somehow, the pedestrian is forgotten in this grand scheme of things. So much so that on most roads, pavements are either non-existent or when they do exist, they are usurped by hawkers selling their goods or shopkeepers spreading their ware (illegally) or large commercial establishments such as banks, hospitals, hotels and jewellery shops, converting them (also illegally) into their private parking space.
On many pavements, restaurants merrily put up tables and chairs, thereby taking away the pedestrians’ right to a safe passage. There are also sweetmeat sellers frying sweets and savouries, posing a grave risk to those walking on foot. In fact some years ago, an infant in the arms of his mother fell into one such frying pan and died.
The insensitivity of the civic authorities can be seen in the fact that they not only refuse to rid the pavements of these illegal occupants, but also add to the chaos on sidewalks by digging trenches and pits, ostensibly for some work, making the pedestrian pathways at many places highly dangerous and unusable. On some pavements, huge electrical installations not only impede pedestrian movement, but also pose a threat to them, particularly because they are not even fenced! In Bengaluru, citizens were forced to file public interest litigation for the removal of such installations.
That’s not all, some pavements also provide for manhole openings and many of them are left uncovered and during monsoon these get filled up, resulting in many a pedestrian death. Live, naked wires left hanging on the roadside have also killed those walking on the sidewalk. Two-wheeler riders, too, add to the chaos on many pavements by using them as roads.
The lack of concern for pedestrian safety can also be seen in many cities from the traffic signals — at many major intersections, pedestrians have to wait for a long time for their turn and when it does come, the time given is so short that it does not even give the pedestrian adequate time to cross the road.
With this kind of neglect, it is no wonder that the number of pedestrian fatalities is on the rise. The number of pedestrian deaths in road accidents rose to 7,088 in 2015 from 6,690 in the previous year. The number injured during 2015 stood at 21,346. Similarly, as many as 167 persons died from falling into manholes in 2015. In many cities, concerned citizens have filed public interest litigations and sought the help of the courts for improving the walkability, but to no avail. In 2014, for example, Karnataka high court directed the civic authorities to rid the pavements of all encroachments and build safe sidewalks within six months. Obviously the administration did not comply.
So I come back to my earlier suggestion, with a slight modification — that politicians and bureaucrats/civic administrators should walk in different parts of the city for about an hour every month, without of course their security men or secretaries chasing away other pedestrians (and without any fanfare). Only then will they realise the risks faced by people walking on the streets every day in our cities and towns and hopefully this will pave the way for safe pedestrian walkways that allow unhindered movement of those walking on foot.