After ‘bus beku’ and ‘chuku buku beku’, the Citizens for Bengaluru (CfB) is campaigning for pedestrian rights. CfB volunteers have started a walkability survey, especially in areas that are along the Namma Metro line.
The idea, CfB volunteers said, is to assess the problems faced by pedestrians and reverse the trend of people walking less. Volunteers are gathering information about last-mile connectivity and pedestrian infrastructure in tandem with the available public transport options.
Volunteers ask 15 questions to citizens. They include how they reach the metro station, if they are aware of metro feeder services, if bus services to their localities have been integrated with the metro and if they feel safe walking or crossing the road.
“On Thursday, we carried out the survey at South End Circle. At this junction, the pedestrian signal is only for about 10 seconds. People have to run to cross the road. Some are stuck mid-way,” said Srinivas Alavilli from CfB.
The volunteers had earlier carried out a survey near Baiyappanahalli metro station.
The survey is expected to be completed in the next couple of weeks. The CfB plans to convert their findings into an ‘actionable plan’ and involve the multiple agencies involved in making the city’s roads safer, i.e., the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike, Bengaluru Traffic Police, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. and Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation.
