Need to shift focus from car travellers to pedestrians: Expert
LUCKNOW:Despite over 50% commuting in the country being done on foot, pedestrians and their concerns remained neglected, said an expert while addressing the panel discussion ‘Re-imagining Urban Space’ at the event ‘Transforming Urban Landscape’ organised in Lucknow on Saturday.
Shreya Gadepalli of the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP), which works on development projects across states, said that the majority of road and street development done in Indian cities focused on car travel and parking, which helped just 5% commuters.
“If you look at our streets, you will get an impression that cars make for the most used means of transport, but the number of commuters (travelling by cars) is far less than those who travel on foot,” said Gadepalli.
She said there was a myth that developing wide roads and multilevel parking lots would solve traffic issues. “But can multi-level parking work without traffic management? Absence of traffic management allows people to avoid parking (charges) and park on streets. Big
› If you look at our streets, you will get an impression that cars make for the most used means of transport, but the number of commuters (travelling by cars) is far less than those who travel on foot SHREYA GADEPALLI, Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP)
pants can’t cure obesity. Just like that bigger roads can’t solve traffic issues. In fact, if you allow cars to move at a certain speed, say 30kmph, and keep pedestrians and cyclists in a separate lane, it will be ideal,” said Gadepalli.
She said that in the past 25 years, city development had given rise to higher pollution levels, more accidents and longer travel time.
“This can’t be called development. We need equitable resource allocation, safe travel and environment-friendly ways, which means more focus is needed on pedestrians. Delhi is an example of how big (wide) roads resulted in more cars and more pollution. Have we ever asked -‘where are the footpaths on our roads’?” she said.
Raj Cherubal of Chennai spoke on how footpaths could be developed to make them safe for commuters, thus encouraging more people to use them.
Prasana Desai, architect and urban planner, who is also a part of the Smart City pilot project in Pune, said that urban street planning and designing had to be based on “local priorities”.
The event ‘Transforming Urban Landscape’ marks the third anniversary of government schemes -- Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), and Smart Cities Mission.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi later addressed the event.
’FOOT OVER-BRIDGES NOT FOR PEDESTRIANS’
Speaking at the event Gadepalli said that foot over-bridges were not helping pedestrians, but car travellers.
“These bridges make people climb up and down, while cars move smoothly beneath. Only if cars were made to go via flyovers or subways, we could say that the bridges were benefitting pedestrians,” she said.
Gadepalli said that climbing up and down might not be difficult for the young or the middle-aged, but it was a tall task for the elderly. “That’s why people often avoid over-bridges and cross roads, even at a risk to their lives,” she said.