A blog a day (#11)

PEDESTRIANS, BEWARE!

A news item in the Times of India woke me up from my slumber. Huh! Bangalore Traffic police are booking pedestrians for jaywalking! Now this news may be old, but it does crop up more often than we can care to remember.

Jaywalking is a term originating in the United States and widely used elsewhere that refers to illegal or reckless pedestrians crossing of a roadway. (This definition is from wikipedia.) Be that as it may, are our roads in India conducive to pedestrians? I have seen many roads where the original footpaths are encroached upon by a myriad of objects and people. In busy roads, one is likely to see street-vendors occupy a portion of the footpath selling their wares - mostly street food. The waste of the food items are strewn about near the cart. Then come the flower vendors and fruit sellers. We have an occasional cobbler - but that skill is vanishing and I don't think young guys are interested in repairing their footwear any longer. The life of a footwear is directly proportional to the changing tastes of the millenials. I have seen trucks being parked in the space meant for pedestrians (not a footpath really; the place is just a muddy space between where the road ends and the compound wall of the house begins. 

There was a news item recently in The Hindu with an accompanying photograph showing how the footpaths are designed and built. Are they really meant for people to walk? Can one display one's gymnastic skills while walking on the footpath? No wonder children walk on the side of the road endangering themselves.

Certain cities do not have a park in each locality. That feature is present in Delhi and Bangalore. It is quite easy to find the nearest park and go for the morning walk there.

Some city planners are working on removing all vehicles on congested market places and making them pedestrian only. Chandni Chowk (New Delhi) is an example of one such change. The revamped plan looks wonderful and make the life of the shopper and the traders very pleasant!

Chandni Chowk after redevelopment to make it pedestrian only.

Church Street, Bangalore and Pondy Bazaar, Chennai (not for pedestrian only, but wide footpaths and all encroachments removed) are some areas that I have myself seen that are pedestrian friendly. Hopefully this trend continues and more and more areas are improved for pedestrians to walk.