#SmartCity – Give Us Back Our Footpaths And Cycle Tracks, Say Citizens

Where are we supposed to walk quips every pedestrian from Pune.

The city was known as a pedestrian-friendly city, but the progressive disappearance of footpaths have raised many questions among the citizens.

Pune365 decided to do a reality check of the footpaths in the city.

Jaya Banerjee a social activist says, “As much as we would love for Pune to be a pedestrian-friendly city, it most often seems a distant dream. The PMC for lack of planning has developed footpaths in bits and parts, making it mostly available on only certain roads and parts of the city.”

When we look at encroachments on the footpaths and delve deeper into the issue, it’s nothing but a nexus between local politicians and their karyakartas, and certain PMC officers. Numerous activists have been complaining about the issue, and all the PMC does is sends a notice and closes the issue. They don’t really take requisite action. We need more determined officers in PMC, who will take necessary action and make the decisions they are required to make, and not be compromised because of bribes and local political pressure or their nexus with them.

There can be numerous designs and plans, but if there is no will to implement it, it remains pointless.  Also, citizens sometimes are adamant and don’t care where they park vehicles or where they ride, and if someone tries to correct them, well we know what would happen.

“The biggest contributor to a pedestrian-friendly city is the PMC if they can have the infrastructure in place and usable, I’m sure we’d have lesser people walking on the rise and riding on footpaths.”

A classic example is the Hyatt chowk in Vimannagar – if you go by you will see a footpath on the side of WNS, but it’s absent on the side of the Hyatt hotel. And the PMC does not take action inspite of complaints. It’s apparent that Hyatt hotel has encroached and stolen the footpath area. This is just one of many examples, Banerjee adds.

“There was a time when footpaths were considered the zones for citizens, ensuring their safety and comfort, away from the perils of traffic,” says Anand Bhujang, the social worker.

Encroachment on footpaths is common these days, and it is happening so rapidly that, week after week, the footpaths seem to be disappearing.

The footpaths are now used for parking vehicles and for street vendors to set up their stalls. Also shopkeepers extend their existing shops onto these paths and to top it all, two wheeler riders treat them as freeways to beat the traffic jams.

The corporation has also created some cycle tracks in parts of the city, which are now entirely used by two-wheelers and street vendors.

The disappearing sidewalks have hampered the safety of pedestrian and there has been a rise in accidents, and in some cases fatal ones.

This is an important issue that needs to be taken up and resolved on priority, Bhujang adds.

Mithila Lokhande, Journalist says, “The authorities have failed to understand the basic need and ignored a very basic fact that there are people without bikes and cars too.

We need a proper footpath to walk on. The increasing traffic is scary and makes it torturous to walk on roads.

It is risky, but we have no other option. Instead of focusing on implementing new modes of transport they should first concentrate on the existing issue.”

“The newly designed footpaths on JM road and Aundh are often seen covered with cars parked or, with street vendors and yet, there is no action taken by PMC.

Although they have planned to build or renovate the existing footpaths, no plan of action is seen yet.”

“The design for footpaths should be in such a way that no bikers can access them and the vendors need to be booked with heavy fines and also revoke their licenses if need be, Mithila adds.

This vehicle city has no place for pedestrians, Common people without cars and bikes spend more time in avoiding vehicles. The city never follows traffic rules, which makes it even more difficult to walk on the roads, says Anuja Matkar, Student.

Most of the time the footpaths are dug up for gas or water pipelines as part of this new excuse of development of this so-called smart city. The pedestrians are forced to walk on roads and risk their lives almost every day, Anuja adds.

A senior citizen Dattu Sarang says, “there were these huge footpaths during our college days, and we used to jog every morning.

Yet the current scenario is pathetic. Forget about jogging, walking itself has become so scary.

Moreover, the roads nowadays don’t even have zebra crossings. During our time, pedestrians were treated as the kings of the streets, now we can only see that on movie posters, he adds.

 

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#All views expressed in this article are those of the individual respondents and Pune365 does not necessarily subscribe to them.