No right to walk

From construction debris to electric poles, illegal protrusions to broken footpaths, the life of a pedestrian in Bengaluru is full of challenges. Few years ago, Malleswaram Social, a citizen collective, made a very creative video that showed how one needs to master Bharata Natyam skills to negotiate the hurdles. The video went viral because thousands of people instantly connected to the everyday reality of our city. Unlike other countries, we don’t have a right of way for pedestrians. In fact, in a recent discussion on Active Mobility Bill, the experts pointed out that there is no law under which a pedestrian has been defined and rights of pedestrians enshrined per law.

Perhaps this is the reason why motorists feel free to ride on footpaths when faced with a traffic jam, never mind the mortal fear they create in the hapless pedestrians who weren’t expecting any vehicles coming after them. They are already terrified trying to walk on uneven footpaths that often miss a block or two and no amount of enforcement can stop the bad behavior because the motorists simply do not respect the rights of pedestrians.

The fact that footpaths are occupied by commercial establishments for parking and even those outside police stations are being used as parking spaces conveys the lack of empathy for pedestrians and also the lack of adequate parking facilities in our city. A robust parking policy has been created but waiting for implementation.

By law, commercial establishments are supposed to provide for parking in the cellar (or basement) – however, most of them use this space for renting to another shop rather than for parking. The result is vehicles occupying footpaths and streets shrinking road space, causing even more congestion.

Pedestrians must always have the right of way. When a senior citizen or anyone wants to cross a street, they must be able to do so, at grade level, without having to sprint like an athlete. We need WALK signals at every intersection that give adequate time to cross. Machines are not more important than people, ever.

BBMP is making attempts to improve walkability. In the current budget BBMP allocated Rs 20 lakh to each ward committee to fix footpaths in their ward. This led to several citizens conducting walkability surveys and using these funds to improve their situation. This is a good start, but a lot more needs to be done.

Pedestrians have a right to walk. Without fear.

(Srinivas Alavilli, Janaagraha)