manoj

If you’ve been wondering why Delhi roads are increasingly becoming a death trap for pedestrians, read on. An audit of pedestrian facilities available on Delhi roads, conducted by Central Road Research Institute (CRRI), reveals that most roads do not have zebra crossings, pedestrian lights or footpaths. And wherever such facilities are available, they are in such a run-down condition that people are forced to walk on the main road. The preliminary results point to an utter disregard for pedestrian rights and the problem areas of our roads.

Missing facilities: CRRI’s traffic engineering and safety division studied 47 major roads and junctions, including busy intersections like AIIMS, Ashram Chowk, IIT Gate, Shastri Park, Keshav Chowk, Sarita Vihar, Paharganj, Munirka, Surajkund and Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital.

The audit shows that 55% of the roads surveyed did not have zebra crossings for pedestrians. But what is more shocking is that in 98% of the roads no pedestrian signals have been provided. This means pedestrians do not have any dedicated time to cross a busy stretch. Says Dr Nishi Mittal, a senior scientist who conducted the audit: ‘‘The only intersection where we found a pedestrian signal that provided a satisfactory time for pedestrians to cross was near RML Hospital. The pedestrian facilities were just not available at most of the intersections.’’

One-third of the footpaths were found to be encroached — the nature of encroachments varied though. At places, restaurants had placed their boards or gol-gappa stalls on the pavements, while car showrooms lined up vehicles on the sidewalk. As Dr Geetam Tiwari of IIT Delhi’s Transportation Research and Injury Prevention Programme (TRIPP) says: ‘‘Most of the pavements are encroached upon. Take for instance, the pavement in front of Supreme Court and near Patiala House. They have turned into parking lots.’’

Pedestrian behaviour studies across the world show that people do not like to cross the road in one go. They prefer to wait on the central median, which is also called pedestrian refuge island. In 80% of the roads surveyed, these refuge islands were not present. In most cases, they were too narrow for people to stand safely.

Quality of facilities: The existing pavements are not maintained properly. And the study also shows that the civic agencies have not stuck to basic standards laid down for constructing pavements. Not a single pavement was found to have ramps which made them disabled-friendly. Says Dr Mittal: ‘‘As per the standards, the height of a pavement should not exceed 30 cm. If they are higher, it becomes difficult for children, the elderly and disabled to use them. Pedestrians start avoiding such pavements and prefer walking on the main road.’’ Of the pavements surveyed, 53% were found to be higher than 30 cm. In many cases, they were as high as 37.5 cm.

The width criteria has not been followed either. Whereas sidewalks should be 1.8-metre wide, they measured 30% less in most cases. Dr Mittal says: ‘‘The moment civic agencies start road widening, the first casualty is the sidewalk. The width is reduced.’’ The aesthetics were also found to be shocking — 37% of the sidewalks were ‘‘too uncomfortable to walk’’ and 33% of them had developed severe cracks.

The way out: Experts feel that the biggest problem is lack of planning. Dr Tiwari says: ‘‘We are not thinking from the point of view of pedestrians. We first think of the motorist who is driving a car. The planners have to integrate pedestrian facilities with each infrastructure project. We need to make a choice — do we want a city for cars or a city for pedestrians.’’

Source: http://epaper.timesofindia.com (Delhi Edition)
Date Of Publish: 27-Mar-07

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