Pedestrians are the most neglected lot. For long, city planners, technical wizards and all those who have authority to allot the available land between different class of road users, have always treated the pedestrians as their least prioritized user.
A recent study -
http://www.cseindia.org/AboutUs/press_releases/press-20090612.htm
full report:
http://www.cseindia.org/pdf/Walkroundtable.pdf
conducted by the Centre for Science and Environment has startling revealations about this class of road user and other aspects like pollution from transport sector etc.
Walking on walkways is a pain in the... While road users who travel on tyres get smooth sailing on well maintained roads and are spewi ng maximum CO2 and other GHG gases, the pedestrian who wants to cut down his per capita emission of CO2 and save scarce natural resources by resorting to walking is getting the worst possible footpaths and crossings in majority of the aglomerations.
Pedestrian is the most harassed creature - whether it is encroachment by shop owners, laying of cables, dumping debris, Vana Mahotsava with protruding roots, electric poles, telephone poles, advertisement hoardings, erection of transformers, road widening for vehicle users.. you name it... pedestrains are suffering from those most irritating intrusions.
It is time for pedestrians to start a movement to claim their rightful place for maintaining their holistic thoughts about GHG and help the world in reducing fuel consumption etc.
- Vasanthkumar Mysoremath
ಈ Forum topic ಅನ್ನು ಸ್ನೇಹಿತರಿಗೆ ಕಳಿಸಿ
Praja ped campaign
We need to reinvigorate our ped campaign.
1. A Praja roundtable to go through the IRC specs and best practices round the world. Suhas/ASJ's road design booklet is here
2. Once equipped with knowledge we select an area to do a photographic walking tourcollecting data
3. Praja meeting to brainstorm the results, mapping them against the best practices and prepare a proposal
4. Send the proposal to BBMP with suggestions.
I can participate in steps 1,3 & 4. Should this run as a project? Is it the same team that is identified here?
Game to do a survey
IDS,
At least we agree on some things.
Why don't we do a weekly survey of some important roads and share the data with Swabhimana. They have been active and been meeting the police on this. I will post an event for this.
Srivathsa
Drive safe. It is not just the car maker which can recall its product.
A classic photograph of a neglected footpath in Mysore...
browse: "What a footpath?"
http://www.mysorenext.com/ShowArticle.aspx?ID=970&SECTION=7
A few educational institutions, a deaf and dumb school and hostel for the disabled, a well known dental college and hospital are located in the vicinity of this wide road. But it is neglected for the past two decades despite reminders, the latest being through the Success Story of a Street Committee post. Recent information is that after appeal to the DC, Mysore, some survey appears to have been done, removal of silt and repairs to the damaged portion of side walls of the storm water drain has been completed on the one side.
The wide footpath can be beautifully developed and made a model walkway to enable people to safely walk on footpath rather than share the road with speeding vehicles.
Another classic example of how a railway underbridge sans walkway has been constructed with total disregard to the needs of pedestrians can be seen at: "What an Underbridge?" follow the link below:
http://www.mysorenext.com/ShowArticle.aspx?ID=1200&SECTION=7
- Vasanthkumar Mysoremath
Footpath
The problem as I have said many number of times is not to look at a part of a road in isolation - the problem is that we look at it in parts. There is a footpath one day and a bus-stop on it next, or a tree etc, which would make it unwalkabe in any case.
I am almost through with an update of the doc. I suggest if you are serious, we push this to the relevant authorities.
Suhas