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| Pedestrians and cyclists on Indian roads battle for space | | | Dr. Pragya Khanna
We were all walkers to
begin with (and still are) if we recall a little about the pre-historic man (Homo erectus) who stood straight and walked on two legs, but walking got downgraded slowly as other fancier modes of getting around took over. As villages grew into towns and towns transformed into cities, walking came to be amblerized just as not walking but became a metaphor for upward social mobility. Ironically, with the creation of the wheel and particularly when it was put on automobiles, the space for pedestrians and tolerance with them has been rapidly shrinking. Almost every day we see two, three and four wheelers charging at hapless pedestrians with the viciousness of ravenous pesters at traffic signals. Practically, the walkers today are demoted to the bottom of all hierarchies just like pawns or "paidals" in a game of chess. Incidentally, a very high number of road accidents involve pedestrians being hit by motorised egoists. Entering into pedestrian space is understandable given that policy makers and contractors, both urban and rural, are in cars; but the loss of patience with pedestrians indicates a deeper societal melancholy. Sarcastically, the next step could well be a licence for walking!
It is worth noting that India accounts for about 10 percent of road accident fatalities worldwide and the figures are the highest in the world. Indian roads are poorly constructed while traffic signals, pedestrian footpaths and suitable signage are almost non-existent. The other reasons are encroachments, lack of parking facility and ill-equipped traffic facilities. An estimated 1,275,000 persons are critically injured on the road every year. Social cost of annual accidents in India has been estimated at Rs 8000 million. The Government of India's Planning Commission has estimated there to be 15 hospitalised injuries and 70 minor injuries for every road death.
The number of accidents for 1000 vehicles in India is as high as 35 while the figure ranges from 4 to 10 in developed countries. An estimated 270 people die each day from road accidents, and specialists predict that will increase by roughly 5 percent a year. According to World Bank forecasts India's death rate is expected to rise until 2042 if no remedial action being taken. The number of road accidents in China dropped by an annual average 10.8 per cent for ten consecutive years from 2003, despite continuous growth in the number of privately owned cars. This impairs a country's capacity to respond to other health care needs. Road traffic injuries also place a deep load on the domestic finances of the victims and their families. Many families are driven extremely into poverty by the loss of a breadwinner and the added burden of disabled members. Though 60-80% of traffic in Indian cities is non-motorised, planners have not kept them in mind while laying out roads, resulting in such road users accounting for more than 60% of fatalities in accidents.
It is heartening to know that cities across the world are rediscovering bicycles. Pushed by increasing fuel costs, the inclination to reduce commuting time, environmental concerns, and the need to make cities liveable, many are back on better wheels. Despite a high user base, Indian cities have no plans for cycles. Actually our cultural mindset that cycle is the vehicle of the poor needs to be changed. It has a number of advantages and it must be encouraged by every possible means. While one remains fit by cycling, its saves money as well as has a great positive impact on environment. It is disheartening to see urban planners fail to notice this advantage. Worse, their strategies have factually pushed cycles off the road, forcing the poor who use them the most to spend more and more on public transportation. The larger benefit from promoting cycling lies in reducing energy consumption and pollution levels. Every car that is off the road saves 5.1 metric tonnes of CO2 a year and a five percent increase in cycle trips across the world would cumulatively save 100 million tonnes of CO2 emissions annually. This predicament has been exacerbated by the tremendously rapid growth of India's largest cities in a perspective of low incomes, limited and obsolete transport infrastructure, uncontrolled suburban sprawl, sharply rising motor vehicle possession and use, declining bus services, a wide range of motorized and non-motorized transport modes sharing roadways, and insufficient as well as inept land use and transport planning. The pedestrians are also exasperated by discontinuous and poorly paved footpaths that are not easily accessible as most of the times height and width of pavements violate norms. No kerbed ramps or blended crossings to access the crosswalk facilities, moreover, the exposure to traffic is very high. Let's try to evaluate bicyclists' and Pedestrians' right to use public roadways. Many people believe that non-motorized modes (walking, cycling, and their variants) have less right to use public roads than motorists, based on assumptions that motor vehicle travel is more important than non-motorized travel and motor vehicle user fees the construction of roads. In reality non-motorized modes have clear legal rights to use public roads and provide significant benefits to users and society, while less than half of roadway expenses are financed by motor vehicle users and pedestrians and cyclists pay more than their share of roadway costs. Most funding for local roads (the roads pedestrians and cyclists use most) is from general taxes, which people pay regardless of how they travel. Since bicycling and walking impose lower roadway costs than motorized modes, people who rely on non-motorized modes tend to overpay their fair share of roadway costs and subsidize motorists. Footpath is the least of the service which any civic body should not only provide but also ensure that it is free of any misuse. They have to be clean, stumble free, and devoid of any blockage. Where footpaths are street dwellers' accommodation, street vendors' outlet, public garbage dumping ground, pill boxes of security forces; where footpaths are less for man and more for manholes and a lot more except a pedestrian freeway. When renovated/reconstructed, the height of footpaths is such that an arthritis patient or a senior citizen would prefer risking his life crossing the road than climbing up the footpath. A reasonably simple step like building a separate pedestrian lane shaded by trees would serve more than one purpose. First, it would save the lives and ordeal of pedestrians. Second, it would provide respite to the vehicles which are continuously annoyed by presence of the pedestrians on the roads. This would also reduce noise pollution a bit as drivers would stop honking. Third, it would persuade more people to walk. This would not just reduce fuel consumption and air pollution, but would also assist in the creation of a healthy environment. The most important safety tip to reduce pedestrian injuries and fatalities is to pay attention. You can considerably lessen your chances of being in an accident with a motor vehicle by obeying traffic rules and by being aware of dangers posed by cars in your vicinity. Make eye contact with drivers if possible and make sure that they can see you.
Let's try to restore human legs as a means of travel. Pedestrians rely on food for fuel and need no special parking facilities--Lewis Mumford |
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