Walk down at your own risk

Forget about reducing carbon footprint. Riding a two-wheeler or taking a ride in a four-wheeler will probably hurt you less than walking down city roads.

If you like to walk, footpaths in the city are not safe for you. Such problems exists in every corner of our country. Absence of usable footpaths, Elevated man holes, deep drains, substandard  quality of material/work, footpath vendors, encroachments, poor infrastructure, improper maintenance, road, pavement and traffic misusers and the list goes on…  

We cannot blame the government for every single reason. Breaking law without any fear by an Individual official or citizen is common here. Rules and punishments are not strict for the offenders. It differs and lenient to powered and authoritative people. One or two policeman on traffic signals cannot stop majority of the people who offend it. It is for the public to act sensibly, obey and follow rules.

Collective effort , involvement by government and public only can help to improve whether it is good infrastructure, traffic, pavement and many others. Responsibility, honesty and accountability is must for every citizen and their actions in the society. But are we seeing it in these days..?? Who has decided to give permit for the footpath vendors i.e one third of the footpath they can use for business. So they are giving legitimacy to the illegal encroachment. Who is going to measure the size of the footpath shop to be exactly one third area? Where will the crowd stand and purchase things from those shops? No one even can question the vendors since they would have been permitted by the Govt.   If it is not the shops then it is either a broken footpath, cars parked on it and many more other nitty gritties which we have to face while not only walking on a pavement but also on the roads.  Garbage is, of course, not to be forgotten.  The citizens themselves should have civic sense on this.

Our Right to Walk: Where Have All The Footpaths Gone?

Govt should set example to others by following rules.   Other road side shops have come now.  While walking you either stand, wait make way for the others to walk first or push your way through.  During festive seasons - with heavy crowd, some buyers, other window shoppers, then there is no way for people like us who are just walking down left with any space.

From the comments of many well meaning citizens, I understand that , some sort of subjectivity is also there. While footpaths may not look to be a very big issue for some, our survival while walking on roads is quite essential. That is , of course, if you have some need to walk on roads (or sidewalks?).  If we can’t use the pavement and have to walk on the road then again the danger of getting hit or brushed by either a car or motorcycle and I feel that a lot many have such necessity. But what is more important is the need to move and demand our basic rights, we have to resist their abuse.

In India people prefer to break rules and regulations than to follow them. Many of our politicians who should be trend setters always want preferential treatment in everything. How many cars use the siren and red lights perched on top to go fast when they are not entitled to use the facility? The authorities should use their power to punish the erring people whoever he or she may be. There should not be any special or preferential treatment to anybody. People must learn to be more civic and treat the roads and sidewalks as public property and not as their own. Any violation by those who encroach the sidewalks must be dealt with severely. Even a Supreme court judge of the United States of America was stopped and issued a ticket by a traffic cop. Nobody is above law.  Here, if a  child of any political leader is caught by the law for defaulting, he / she  immediately turns around and asks the police if they know who he / she is.  So that is it!

Even it is not safe to walk after getting down from a bus. You are safer in a two wheeler or a car.

Are we fast losing the right to walk in our cities and towns? It is while walking that a place is best appreciated; it establishes a unique connect to the city and its character. More importantly, walking is the most basic form of mobility. It is freedom; a right every human being should have.

In the Calcutta (now Kolkata) of the 1980s and 1990s, footpaths adorned the streets; they were an integral part of life - be it socialising, shopping or just walking. There was safety on the streets. They were the city's lifeline during the frequent shutdowns that were called in the city.

One shudders to walk on the city's streets. There are hardly any footpaths! The ones that do exist are in a deplorable condition, unsafe, and provide a connection to nothing. Connected, well designed and maintained footpaths along the streets: Are they an endangered species? Does anyone care about them any more?

The benefits of footpaths for accessibility to opportunities, mobility, public health, environment, recreation and economic development cannot be underestimated. Statistics indicate that 80 percent of the urban population needs footpaths, either because they walk to work or do other activities. Footpaths also provide the first and last mile connectivity to transit stops. Unfortunately, mobility projects that have become synonymous with road widening or flyovers and underpasses rarely include footpaths or pedestrian walkways.

What will it take to make people feel safe and good while walking in our cities today? We propose the following agenda:

Good design: Having footpaths is not enough unless they are designed to provide safe, comfortable mobility options to all, including people of different age groups as well as differently-abled people. This means that they need to be free of barriers (such as transformers), with safe crossings on streets, bridges, and railroads - and safely segregated from fast-moving vehicular traffic (at entry-exit points of buildings, island refuges at wide road crossings et al.). In this regard, the barriers that have been constructed on footpaths in New Delhi, to prevent two-wheeled vehicles from encroaching on footpaths, is a strategy that can and should be implemented across the country. Footpaths also need to have adequate lighting, trees providing shade, places to sit down, toilet facilities and waste bins. In this regard, there are a number of pedestrian design guidelines that can be followed.

Not only a path but a space: Vibrant streets make one return to them again and again. Making allowances for suitable commercial and recreational activity along sidewalks, combined with human-scale building design, will help create an active space rather than make it deserted and unsafe. These designs need to be sensitive to age, gender and ethnic identity to make sidewalks a welcoming space.

Maintenance and monitoring: The notion of a footpath as an important public space as well as a "right" has to come with a sense of ownership from both civic authorities and citizens. There exist established codes for construction and/or maintenance of sidewalks and curbs by adjacent property owners and also for liability of accidents happening on footpaths due to maintenance failure.  Variants of such citizen partnership should be explored while being cognizant of societal complexities and transparency of processes. But abandoning footpaths should be a "no-no" at any cost.

Yes, it is a long list and needs dedicated funds but, more importantly, decision makers need to understand the benefits of putting people first when planning cities. Cars are a sign of economic growth - and a pedestrian-friendly city is a sign of a sensitive city respecting human rights.

Parsan Narang

3rd May 2016