[sustran] Go, take a walk...

[Vinay Baindur]

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/181971/go-take-walk.html

*Go, take a walk...*


... is what the Palike seems to be telling pedestrians in the City. But,
with footpaths vanishing, where will they?
G Manjusainath
*Safety of pedestrians in Bangalore has taken a backseat with the vehicular
population in the City swelling to more than 36.53 lakh.*

The startling numbers make Bangalore the City with the highest vehicular
density in the country. Gone are the days when people would enjoy taking a
stroll on the wide footpaths dotted with lush green trees in the Pensioners’
Paradise. Bangalore becoming the ‘fastest growing city’ has taken a toll on
pedestrian space. The development activities in the City have resulted in
shrinking footpaths and loss of greenery. Adding to the pedestrians’ woes
are the street vendors who take up whatever is left of the footpaths.

All this has put the pedestrians at high risk. In the last one year, at
least 850 people lost their lives in road accidents, while 5,350 people
suffered injuries. Till July this year, about 500 people died in road
accidents, said sources in the traffic department.

BBMP engineer-in-chief, B T Ramesh, estimates that presently the City has
1,940 km of arterial and sub-arterial roads. His officials say the footpaths
are a mere 1,700 km.

Ideally there should be footpaths on both sides of the road. But not all
roads in the City have footpaths, a testimony to the lack of concern for
pedestrians on the part of the Palike. Also there is no benchmark regarding
the width of the footpaths, which allowed the civic agency to eat up
pedestrian space. There is also no standard design or structure to construct
footpaths. At some places, the Palike uses stone slabs, while at other
places cement slabs are laid on the footpaths. There are also moulded
footpaths in some places.

At places like Trinity Circle, the footpaths have glossy marble tiles and
there are chances of the pedestrians slipping and falling down. At most
places, the stone slabs are laid in an uneven manner. The footpaths at Yarab
Nagar near Banashankari Temple and JP Nagar are notable examples for this
anomaly. Besides the road-widening projects which take a toll on the
pedestrian space, street vendors also eat up a substantial part of the
footpaths.

However, Vinay Srinivasa of the Beedi Vyaparigala Hakkottaya Andolana says
street vendors are only a small hindrance to pedestrians and that they
(street vendors) are at the receiving end of the road-widening projects. He
says: “The reality is street vendors ensure the safety of the people,
especially women.”

According to him, the major challenge for the pedestrians is the struggle
while crossing the roads. Reducing shade due to the rampant felling of
trees, absence of benches to sit for the pedestrians, lack of safety for
women and flooding during rain are the major challenges to the pedestrians,
he adds.

Due to the risk pedestrians face while crossing the roads, the Palike has
planned to construct 50-odd skywalks in the City. But the proposal has run
into rough weather with some contractors taking legal recourse for bagging
the contracts. In the present scenario, only seven new skywalks are coming
up in the City.

Another major challenge posing pedestrians is the absence of public toilets
in the City and civic sense among the citizens. People prefer relieving
themselves in the open on the footpath, either because there are no loos or
the public toilets are ill-maintained.

*Walkability surveys
*
A four-member team of the Clean Air Initiative For Asian Cities Centre
conducted the ‘Walkability Surveys in Asian Countries’. Bangalore finds a
mention in the surveys, but for all the wrong reasons. The report prepared
by Sophie Punte, Sudhir Gota, Bert Fabian and Alvin Mejia, puts Bangalore
among the top cities where walking trips have depreciated fast.

The report says, in 1984, Bangalore had 44 per cent of walking trips, which
has now reduced to a mere 8.3 per cent. Among Indian cities, Bangalore ranks
second, below Kolkata, in terms of high pedestrian fatalities. The City has
been put in the ‘walk at your own risk’ category. Bangalore finds no place
among cities where people show interest in walking.
*
Public transport system a ray of hope
*

In the given gloomy scenario, a strong public transport system or
eco-friendly means of conveyance like bicycles are seen as the remedy. This
alone can bail out Bangalore to make it a pedestrian-friendly city.
Expectations are high from BMTC on introducing more high-tech buses and the
Namma Metro.