Hapless soles

Hapless soles
There’s no place in the city for pedestrians anymore. Walkers have been pushed to the wall by flyovers, encroachments and signal-free roads. Chandrashekar G negotiates this road to hell
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bangalore: Skipping over dislodged pavements, skirting around vegetable vendors, swerving past electricity junction boxes and darting between vehicles... the pedestrian in Bangalore would be a natural at Parkour, the urban obstacle race. The development of the Garden City, once teeming with walkers who leisurely ambled down the wide pavements in the evenings, has turned the simple act of crossing the road into a gamble.
The BBMP, in its enthusiasm to provide motorists with hassle-free rides, has let pedestrian safety fall by the wayside. Flyovers, underpasses and oneways have squeezed pedestrians out of the roads. Major infrastructure projects either eat up footpaths or shrink them so much that they are practically useless.
At several points in the city, pedestrians are forced to wait endlessly at busy junctions to cross the road. Senior citizens, children, women and students face the brunt of constant flow of vehicles on signal-free roads, one-ways, flyovers and underpasses.
The problem is worse at points where flyovers branch out to provide motorists with access to different areas. Pedestrians dread crossing the road at BDA flyover on Airport Road, the flyover at Ananda Rao Circle, one-ways at Cunningham Road and Trinity Circle, underpass at Rajajinagar and Modi junction and the hanging bridge at KR Puram. At all these places, pedestrian subways and skywalks are conspicuous by their absence. Pedestrians are forced to navigate around speeding vehicles on signal-free roads and one-ways. On many occasions, two-wheelers jump on to footpaths to avoid traffic jams. This forces pedestrians off the narrow pavements.
Poor planning
Prashanth Kumar, a software engineer, said the authorities have not planned for pedestrian movement at the flyover on Airport Road. “The flyover has loops to provide connectivity for motorists to Indiranagar, Airport Road and Koramangala. The public has to vie with two and four-wheelers to reach Indiranagar 100 Ft Road. Pedestrians and cyclists use the flyover even though they are not allowed to. This is because the authorities have not provided for pedestrian movement while planning the flyover,’’ he said.
Walking in the city is nothing short of a nightmare, said advocate Mahesh Shetty. The apathy of civic authorities is nowhere more apparent than in front of the BBMP head office near Hudson Circle. Despite the area being one of the busiest in Bangalore, it has neither skywalk nor subway. BBMP officials themselves are put to hardship while crossing the road. Accidents are common due to the lack of pedestrian crossings.
One-ways
One-ways have added to pedestrians’ miseries. Prominent roads have been made one-ways to benefit motorists, said a businessman on Cunningham Road Pranav S. Safe pedestrian crossings are found at very few places like Residency Road, Airport Road, KG Road, Seshadri Road and Jayanagar IV Block, he said. The pedestrian-operated ‘pelican’ signals are hardly functional.
Crossing Bellary Road is set to become a Herculean task. When the stretch from High Grounds junction to Hebbal flyover is made signal-free, pedestrians will find it extremely difficult to get across the road. There is a dire need for a skywalk, said Malathesh R, who stays in Palace Guttahalli.
Encroachments
Those who use footpaths for parking and gardening usually go scot-free. In market areas, pavements are occupied by hawkers and vegetable vendors, whom the civic authorities have failed to evict. Dislodged or missing slabs often cause injuries to inattentive pedestrians.
Encroachers must be penalized heavily, said Ramakrishna Bhat, a government employee. Apart from hawkers and vendors, pedestrians encounter several obstacles — trees, trenches, electricity poles and junction boxes of mobileservice providers, he added.
‘Hardly anyone uses skywalks’
BBMP special commissioner (projects) K R Srinivas said seven skywalks have been constructed on Design-Build-Operate-Transfer (DBOT) basis at Maharani’s College junction, Kodihalli, Residency Road, CV Raman Road, Iskcon, Jayanagar and Indiranagar 100 Ft Road. The skywalk on KG Road has been functioning for several years now, he added.
“Skywalks at Maharani’s College junction, Residency Road and Jayanagar are not being used optimally by the public. People prefer crossing roads instead of taking skywalks. The public should be motivated to use skywalks. Tenders have been invited to install 56 skywalks with escalators at important bus stops, shopping areas and school zones,’’ he said.
These new skywalks will also be built on DBOT basis, with 10-year advertisement rights. Each skywalk with four escalators (two on either side) will cost Rs 2 crore. Cost viability is being assessed, he said.
Two skywalks in Malleswaram will be thrown open to public by mid-April, he said. Skywalks with escalators will be provided at three places near Cauvery junction, he added.
TIMES VIEW
Not so long ago, Bangalore was a pedestrians’ paradise. Not anymore. The broad footpaths have gone. Hawkers occupy most of the narrow pavements. Walkers stumble and fall due to uneven slabs. And desperate pedestrians are forced on to the road to brave speeding vehicles and often get killed. Any global city worth its salt keeps pedestrians in mind while planning its roads. But Bangalore gives them such a raw deal that people have become wary of walking. It’s time we fought for our right to have good pavements, plenty of subways and skywalks. Better pavements will result in more pedestrians and fewer vehicles. It’s time city planners factored pedestrians in their blueprints for the future.
DANGER ZONES One-ways
Trinity Junction, KG Road, Cunningham Road, Richmond Road, Residency Road, Brigade Road, KR Road.
Junctions
Mayo Hall, Balekundri Circle, Shantala Circle, Khoday’s Circle, Basaveshwara Circle, Byatarayanapura, Lalbagh (West), near Jayadeva junction on Bannerghatta Road, Gandhibazar Main Road, Mission Road, Kamaraj Road.
Flyovers and underpasses
Airport Road, Indiranagar 100 Ft Road, Intermediate Ring Road, Ananda Rao Circle, Trinity Circle, Rajajinagar, Modi Junction, hanging bridge at KR Puram and Ramamurthynagar.