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| Pedestrian Bridge near Mrityunjayeshwar temple, Pune |
In an effort towards increasing pedestrian safety, the PMC (Pune Municipal
Corporation) is planning more and more pedestrian bridges and underpasses
(subways) on major traffic arteries in the city. Sadly in the prime story
feature in Sakal newspaper, the author highlights the limited success of such
projects. He says that except in places like Pune station and SNDT on Karve
Road, such bridges or subways have limited use, despite installing elevators. [Article: पादचाऱ्यांच्या सुरक्षेसाठी सरसावली पालिका]
One cannot deny a simple fact. Crossing a road at grade
takes minimum effort and saves energy than climbing and descending stairs. Moreover
due security hazards in subways, some such as the one near Dahanukar circle are
simply locked up at night. Even people might avoid crossing the lonely
pedestrian bridges at night due to safety issues. Thus subways and pedestrian
bridges should be constructed only in high pedestrian and vehicular traffic zones
such as railway stations, universities, major highway crossings etc.
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| Guangzhou China, pedestrian bridges with escalators. |
Another viable alternative could be taking the road below
grade and creating tunnel such as the one near Sancheti hospital. In Guangzhou,
China, pedestrian bridges with escalators have been installed around the BRTS
routes to increase efficiency. More often they connect the pedestrians directly to the malls or places of activity on the other side as shown in this picture. (Although a costly option) I think the usage could go up if escalators
provided instead of lifts since providing lifts is not an incentive enough given the waiting
time and patience during rush hours.
Yet the best solution near Mrityunjayeshwar temple or the
subway near Dahanukar circle would have been to make at grade pedestrian
crossing safer with installation of zebra crossings and other markers.
With BRT lines being laid out on many arteries throughout
the city, it is likely that Punekars will be seeing many more pedestrian
bridges and subways in the near future. It is important to study the future proposals
in detail in terms of its usage and importance to the public. Otherwise it is a
likely waste of tax payers’ money. Perhaps something more meaningful could have
been done in the same funds, such as improving the footpaths, adding footpaths
on streets where they are needed thereby making a real effort towards
pedestrian safety than some pretentious measures.
To conclude, I’d like to say and hope that the Punekars push for a better and safer environment for the kids and the old people in the city. Prioritizing pedestrians and people in general over vehicles is the need of the hour for Indian cities.
