Over 1.25 million people die in road accidents across the world each year. With 65 lakh vehicles and counting, and very little by way of walking spaces on city roads, Bengaluru’s pedestrians are exceedingly vulnerable. Footpaths are badly maintained, serve as lanes for rogue two-wheelers or as parking spaces in residential zones. Skywalks cater more to the advertising companies that maintain them than to pedestrians: They are unsafe and impossible to use. The BBMP needs to revamp its approach to urban planning as endless proposals for signal-free corridors and road-widening projects are band-aid measures that won’t work for long in a rapidly growing city, reports Abhilash Mariswamy.
Over 1.25 million people die in road accidents each year. This alarming statistic, put out by the World Health Organisation, is hugely relevant here in vehicle-choked Bengaluru, where pavements, skywalks and foot-over bridges are encroached upon by errant drivers and authorities in equal measure. Needless to say, pedestrians are the most vulnerable lot on Bengaluru’s increasingly dangerous roads.
Cars and bikes parked on pavements are a common sight in the city, especially in residential areas. On the main roads, bikes make their way across footpaths too, notwithstanding the obvious risk to pedestrians, forcing many of them to walk on the road amidst a stream of fast-moving vehicles. However, no punitive or legal action is taken against the people who flout these norms.
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According to the Rules of the Road Regulations,1989, Right of Way belongs to pedestrians at uncontrolled crossings. The regulations also clearly say that pavement, cycle tracks or designated lanes for non-automobile traffic cannot be impeded upon without express permission from a police officer.
“Footpaths and skywalks across the city are in bad condition. We require a length of 1.8 metres according to the IRC guidelines on footpath construction. However, cables lie scattered across most of our pavements, which aren’t maintained properly either. And BBMP officials aren’t too concerned with the situation,” says M.N. Sreehari, traffic expert and advisor to the state government on infrastructure.
The provisions of Indian Road Congress stipulate that there should be a minimum footpath length of 1.5 meters on either side of the road, slightly raised from the carriageway itself to ensure that bikes and other automobiles cannot access them. This rule is widely flouted by civic agencies, who favour motorists, lazy residents and other utility agencies.
“Why has the government opted for a four-meter footpath on TenderSure roads, which is totally unnecessary? 1.8 meters, the stipulated width, will more than suffice for footpaths ad skywalks. These are business models that contain no research or scientific study on construction,” points out Sreehari. “Also, residents park vehicles on footpaths, taking over pedestrian spaces. Why hasn’t the government devised any form of action to penalise these people? Skywalks are built to pander to advertising companies who maintain these across the city, so they are constructed without any thought to utility and purpose.”
Shivakumar, DCP Traffic (West) says, “The volume of vehicles is also increasing everyday. There are more than 70 lakh vehicles coming in from the other states. It is not possible for us to control every vehicle in the city! And because of the white topping and TenderSure constructions, more and more motorists are using footpaths and any available bit of free space. We are imposing a fine and will continue to do so.”
None of this is surprising when pedestrian infrastructure ranks so low on the government’s list of priorities. While the elite classes continue to benefit through the endless slew of road-widening projects, steel bridges and signal free corridors, none of this actually addresses the long term problem – making Bengaluru liveable! As pedestrian deaths continue to mount, however, perhaps it’s time to reimagine our city.
Adjust beda: Citizens join fight for pavements
Despite several deaths and protests civic agencies continue to treat the lack of pedestrian facilities with apathy. Only last month, Sanjay Aditya Giri, a 19-year-old security guard, was hit by a car as he crossed the Outer Ring Road near Bellandur. Residents of Akme Harmony Apartment, where Giri was employed, collected around Rs. 1.25 lakh for his treatment. Around 11 apartment complexes and school children came together to launch a campaign demanding a skywalk at the spot where the accident took place. “Despite our repeated complaints, authorities haven’t bothered to build a skywalk,” says Shamala, a local resident. “This shows the negligence and carelessness exercised by the civic agency.”
On October 30, Mavir Poonacha, a 24-year-old employee of Greenpeace broke his leg near Kensington Road after falling on a badly-maintained footpath. ‘Adjust Beda, Footpath Beku’, a campaign launched by the residents of Sanjay Nagar, is growing into a city wide protest against the lack of walking spaces. School children and residents formed a human chain demanding their ‘right to walk’.
Sathya, a resident of Sanjay Nagar said, “There is no place to walk in our locality. We can’t walk on the drain cover where people are falling and there is no footpath either. Pedestrians deserve their share of space to move about in safety! Today, we’re forced to walk on the road and motorists see us as an obstruction.” Even walking to the bus and auto stands nearby is a challenge, Sathya adds, especially for senior citizens. “My father had a fall recently because there is no pavement in the area.”
Somashekar, Chief Engineer for road infrastructure, BBMP said, “Skywalk work is in progress. There are eight skywalks under construction, work orders are being issued for 23 more and the tender process for 69 structures is also happening.” He explains that due to carriage standardisation, footpaths are broader on TenderSure roads. “We have converted these into bus and parking bays. If roads are uneven, their width is taken into consideration first and the remaining space is converted.”
The safety of pedestrians, Somashekar emphasises, is the BBMP’s top priority. “There is a lot of road digging and rampant parking on footpaths. We are constantly monitoring and repairing footpaths annually.”
