Civic designs should put pedestrians first, says Dr Ashish Verma

Footpaths are the prime infrastructure of any city and pedestrians should be the top priority. But in most parts of Bengaluru, the footpaths are neglected with no effort to maintain them.

They are also plagued by the constant problem of encroachment by street vendors. They cannot , however, be removed completely as the people around depend on these vendors, who are easily accessible and sell cheap goods and they in turn depend on the locals  for a livelihood.

The government should therefore plan in such a way that these hawkers are integrated in the design of the footpaths. In Europe, for instance, the hawkers are taken into consideration when designing footpaths  and they are  constructed in such a way that the pedestrians have their space and so also the hawkers.

Another important factor to be considered is that pavements leading to the Metro Rail stations and bus stands in the city are not in good shape. This needs to be rectified. The authorities concerned should work with the Metro officials and chalk out a plan to ensure that the pavements are protected for the pedestrians.

When we did a study a few years ago, we found that around 80 per cent of roads in the city had footpaths,  but there has been no such estimation of late. It is,however,  the need of the hour as we must give pedestrians priority . The authorities need to wake up and ensure that the footpaths are not neglected. 

Vendor zones the solution: Cops 
The traffic police claims it is doing its bit to keep the  pavements free for pedestrians to stop them from having to walk on the roads in the midst of heavy traffic.

Says a senior police officer, “We carry out frequent drives to clear footpaths of encroachments , but they are back at the same spot the next day. Our department also tries to ensure that there is no riding or parking on the pavements, but it is really upto the BBMP to take stern action against the vendors encroaching on them.”

In his view, unless and until  separate street vendor zones are created the problem will persist and the pedestrians will continue to be put at risk while walking on roads with their heavy traffic.

Going by him, the vendor zones are all the more important as the city is seeing a rise in pedestrian movement with more beginning to use public transport like the Metro Rail. “When people use public transport, they also tend to walk to the nearby stations and this requires proper pavements. With public transport improving , this trend is likely to increase in days to come. The officials should ensure that the existing footpaths are well maintained and look for alternatives to make the city more pedestrian -friendly,” he suggests.

Another traffic police officer observes that although around 75 per cent of roads in the city have footpaths, its hard to tell how usable they are.

“If we want to make the city pedestrian -friendly we need to take a re-look at the way the footpaths are designed. Every pavement should accommodate two people walking side by side, but today only one person can walk on it as it is occupied by either two-wheelers or vendors. We need stringent policies to make the city pedestrian- friendly,” he stresses.

When contacted,  BBMP officers assured they would in cooperation with the traffic police make sure that pavements were used by only pedestrian and also create hawking zones.  Said a BBMP official, “This is a major issue which is discussed in every council meeting, but no one is able to come to a substantial conclusion. Ideas are also being discussed to ensure that the street vendors do not eat into  pedestrian walking space. We will hold a meeting with the traffic department and come up with an idea to give pedestrians the complete use of pavements. ”

The official pointed out that the BBMP was already working with DULT to build TenderSure roads that provided for pedestrian comfort.