Pedestrians are marginalised in planning, although India pursues a ‘people-centric’ urban transport policy
Callous urban planning and the motor car culture juggernaut have come together to make life hell for the pedestrian in a city where pavements and sidewalks account for over 95 per cent of footfalls.
Traffic authorities say an average 350 pedestrians have been killed in Mumbai each year since 2008, while crossing roads or just walking.
In most cases, the victims (including cyclists) are from the poorer classes, falling victim to indifferent motorists from the rich, upwardly mobile and political classes, usually in the 15-29 age group, say officials.
“As car technology advances, a fundamental paradox is operating here as motorists feel safe and think they have the right to ride roughshod over the pedestrian. The pedestrian and the pavement dweller's angst is aggravated when municipal authorities sacrifice a footpath to increase space for cars of the well-heeled classes,” says journalist Vidyadhar Date, author of Traffic in the Era of Climate Change, a passionate espousal of the rights of the pedestrian.
“In the post-Nehruvian era and the Licence Raj, the villain in the public consciousness was usually the truck driver. But now it is a rich kid or a politico’s son who mows down pedestrians and cyclists,” he says.
This cruel inequality is further accentuated when the law blames an accident on the ‘careless pedestrian.’
Maharashtra Transport Commissioner V.N. More attributes it to the paradigm shift in lifestyle, notably the rapid advent of pub culture and inability of affluent youth to cope with it.
“Basic speeding laws are in place, and people should responsibly adhere to them. People with power and money usually crackdown on the average traffic cop trying to perform his duty,” says Mr. More.
Keywords: Indian urban planning, Indian pedestrian woes, India road accidents, pedestrian deaths in India
In Indian cities, percent of person trips made by car does not exceed ten. Percentage of person trips made by walk, bicycle, and bus (transit), which are the most sustainable modes, account for 70%. However, these modes are ignored and all the transportation budget is spent on providing facilities for car users. Transportation budget is not spent efficiently and equitably in Indian cities. In major shopping areas of Indian cities, footpaths do not exist or existing footpaths are not usable due to various reasons. Pedestrians, whose share of travel in Indian cities is about 30 percent, are completely ignored at the cost of car users. Unless comfortable, continuous, and safe footpaths are considered as mandatory element in all urban streets, the appearance of underdevelopment can not be eradicated. Lack of footpaths is making the pedestrains to walk on streets; thus making India to get dubious distinction of having highest number of road fatalities out of all nations in the world.
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