Foot overbridges may bail out pedestrians

Few weeks ago, I had written about the need for pedestrian over bridges as part of a post on the one-way system. Finally, the authorities seem to be giving some thought to it.

Only solution: Foot overbridges may bail out pedestrians
The Times of India

Bangalore: Road accidents in Bangalore have claimed the lives of over 1,000 pedestrians in 10 years. Every death has been a grim reminder that our roads are not safe for crossing.

Yet, has anything been done about it? With traffic intersections allowing just 12 seconds for the pedestrian to cross the road, the solution perhaps lies in foot overbridges and underpasses.

On why Bangalore can’t have more foot overbridges, the authorities have a lame excuse. Police commissioner S. Mariswamy says: “We have asked for more foot overbridges’’; DCP traffic (east) M.A. Saleem maintains: “We have requisitioned the BCC to construct 43 foot overbridges at important locations.’’

Did the BCC respond to the requisition? It took up seven foot overbridges in the first stage, and “they will be ready in eight months,’’ technical advisor R. Jayaprasad says.

That’s not all: “We have plans for more; there will be 40 more overbridges in the next stage,’’ Jayaprasad promises.

The BCC’s overbridges have been designed by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), who made one of
the city’s first overbridges to connect its campus.

“The design is Scottish and the IISc helped us. We have planned a foot overbridge with an escalator as an experiment,’’ the corporation said.

Foot overbridges cost less, but are more difficult to use. An underpass has fewer steps compared to foot overbridges, but costs more.
Since important junctions are difficult to cross because of high traffic, experts like BATF member Kalpana Kar vouch for foot overbridges: “They are absolutely essential. For starters, we need about 75 FOBs by next year. At the same time, their utilisation should be enforced. In K.R. Market and Shivajinagar, the subway is underutilised.’’ Utilisation in fact is the other problem. The city’s only public foot overbridge in Gandhinagar is underutilised. Only if enforcement is improved, will people use these bridges.

Kalpana Kar has another suggestion: “They need to erect rails to prevent pedestrians from jumping onto the roads.’’ Further, the bridges need to have provision for the disabled too, with good lighting and other facilties, she adds.