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Many towns have roads with narrow paths that are not suitable for walking.
In India, if you ask a pedestrian how many obstacles he has encountered on a footpath, he may not be able to count them, but he will certainly tell you that most footpaths are in poor condition.
That's what Arun Pai says he learned when he started asking people about their experiences walking the streets of his city, Bengaluru (formerly Bangalore), in southern India.
This month, he launched a “fun challenge” – called “the world's longest trail run” – which invited people to walk or jog an 11km (8-mile) stretch of trail and note any obstacles they encountered, such as street vendors. , waste or broken concrete slabs. Then they were asked to rate the trail on a scale of one to five.
“When you have details, it becomes easier to ask authorities to act. Instead of telling your local elected official 'the paths are bad,' you can ask them 'to fix specific spots on a street,'” explains Mr. Pai.
Mr. Pai, founder of Bangalore Walks, a non-profit organization that promotes walking, is among many citizen activists campaigning to make the country's roads more pedestrian-friendly.
In the Indian capital, a travel company called Delhi by Cycle is campaigning to make the city more bike-friendly and walkable. These walking enthusiasts organize awareness walks, create walking apps, and lobby politicians to bring about change.
Even in India's largest cities, proper footpaths are rare and often overrun by street vendors and shops, parked vehicles and even livestock. In some places, they also serve as homes for the poor.
Even the trails that do exist are often not built to standard or properly maintained. Navigating the roads on foot amid crowds and traffic can be a nightmare.
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Pedestrian paths are often crowded with shops and street vendors
Last month, Walking Project, a citizens' group in Mumbai, India's financial capital, released a “pedestrian manifesto” ahead of the Maharashtra state elections to highlight the poor state of the city's roads and encourage local politicians to take action.
The manifesto included demands for better parking, designated hawking areas, pedestrian-friendly corridors on arterial roads and to make footpaths more accessible to people with reduced mobility.
“Government statistics show that almost 50% of the city's population relies on walking, which is much higher than the 11% who use private transport and the combined 15% who use tuk-tuks and buses,” says Vendant Mhatre, organizer of the Walking Project. .
“And yet, pedestrians are the most ignored user group when it comes to developing transport or road safety policies,” he adds.
According to the government's latest road accident estimates, pedestrian deaths are the second highest after two-wheeler drivers. In 2022, more than 10,000 pedestrians lost their lives on national roads across the country, and around 21,000 more were injured in accidents.
“Authorities often resort to band-aid solutions, like adding speed bumps or a signal to limit road accidents. But what is really needed are interconnected pedestrian paths that can accommodate high ridership “, explains Mr. Mhatre.
Studies have shown that addressing the issues of this forgotten group of road users can bring benefits to multiple stakeholders.
In 2019, researchers in the southern city of Chennai studied the impact of building new trails on 100 km (62 miles) of city streets on the environment, the economy and the health and safety of people. citizens.
They found that the new trails encouraged 9 to 27 percent of respondents to walk instead of using motorized transportation, leading to a reduction in greenhouse gases and particulate matter. They also learned that the trails provide new opportunities for women and low-income groups, also helping them save money.
The survey highlighted how people with disabilities and women may have nuanced trail requirements and that tailoring improvements to meet their needs could improve accessibility and equity.
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Pedestrians try to cross a road in the city of Mumbai
“Very often people don't have a benchmark for the quality of trails, especially if they haven't traveled abroad or been exposed to places with good pedestrian facilities” , explains Mr. Mhatre. He believes this is why there is not enough outrage over the quality or lack thereof of walking trails in the country.
He also points out that most people view walking as a leisure or exercise activity. Thus, the infrastructures that they associate with walking stop in gardens or walking paths. In reality, however, people walk to various destinations every day, so the reach of walking infrastructure is much broader.
“Walking is the most economical and environmentally friendly way to get around the city and it is high time our leaders paid as much attention to walking infrastructure as they do to public transport,” Mr. Mhatre.
Geetam Tiwari, professor of civil engineering, says the main problem is that too much attention is given to solving the problem of automobile congestion on the roads.
“To improve traffic flow, authorities often reduce footpaths or even eliminate them altogether,” she explains. Ms Tiwari says this approach is problematic because it makes it difficult for pedestrians to access public transport systems, such as buses and subways, which can ease pressure on the roads.
“It may seem counterintuitive, but letting traffic jams persist and focusing on improving infrastructure for pedestrians will help solve the traffic problem in the long term,” she says.
Ms Tiwari also says the federal government should force states to implement guidelines issued by the Indian Road Congress – a national organization that sets standards for the design of roads and highways.
She says cities can also implement their own non-motorized transportation policy (NMTP) to create better infrastructure for cyclists and pedestrians.
“At the moment, only a handful of cities in India have experimented with an NMTP, but it is time for more cities to step up,” she adds.
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