Who stole my pavement: A good walk still miles away for city folks

 In all the weeks of highlighting shoddy pedestrian infrastructure in the city, there are many common threads that are evident. The problem is both with the available facilities for pedestrians and the negligent attitude towards them.

Planning in cities has long become vehicle-centric, with focus on cars. This results in precedence accorded to a new flyover over basic upgrades in other facilities that could improve the lives of all road-users. This has been a hurdle in materialising pedestrian-friendly infrastructure across the city.

Pedestrians and vendors are jostling for space. Without a comprehensive plan to rehabilitate vendors who will lose shops if encroachments were to be removed, there will be resistance to any such move. Vendors also form an integral part of the local economy and it comes down to the will of the local body to work with stakeholders to evolve a suitable solution for all by allocating designated spaces for street vendors to do their business.

Pavements are also a refuge to the city’s homeless. The lack of adequate number of night and family shelters exacerbates this issue. The homeless families do not have any other space but the footpaths and many have resided there for years. The conflict between pedestrian infrastructure and homelessness can be resolved only by taking active measures to improve the lives of homeless persons and building habitable shelters.

Other issues that affect pavements can be attributed to poor design and maintenance. The broken tiles, badly placed street furniture, lack of bollards and narrow footpaths are products of bad planning and poorer caretaking. Pavements in the city must be overhauled in a phased manner to meet the standards set by the Indian Roads Congress. Future structures must be designed with pedestrians in mind. Examples from other cities such as the success of the ‘Tender SURE’ experiment in Bengalure can be a blueprint for Chennai. 

From the on-ground realities, it is evident that Chennai has a long way to go to be pedestrian friendly. The way forward will require a key change in terms of planning and a shifting of attitude that sees streets as places where pedestrians have a right too. Only then will Chennai turn into a ‘walkable’ city.

What are the most common encroachments on city pavements and what should the Greater Chennai Corporation do?

Most of the pavements in Chennai are encroached upon by street vendors. In places, where the pavements are wider, even shop owners keep their products on the pavement, hindering the pedestrians. As and when an encroachment is seen or reported, the Corporation officials should remove them immediately. Otherwise, the vendors would approach a court to delay the eviction. During the DMK regime, we had widened the road to ensure a free flow of traffic and to discourage shop owners from keeping their ware outside. The corporation should lay new pavements where there are none and repair the damaged portions.

Are there any standard guidelines (length, breadth, height and other details) for laying pavements in the city?

Pavements should be laid according to the width of the road and the availability of space. Whether the pavements are narrower or wider, it is the duty and responsibility of the Corporation to make it available for the pedestrians.

We often hear of electrocution incidents and hazardous materials on pavements. If a citizen is injured, what should be the Corporation’s accountability?

The Corporation had built garbage collection centres on the pavements at 831 places, depriving the pedestrians of pavements. Although the structures were removed, garbage bins are now kept on pavements. During the DMK period, we had separate lorries to remove debris. But now, debris are kept on pavements, posing a threat to pedestrians. If the Corporation effectively removes these obstructions, why would the pedestrians walk on roads? It is the Corporation’s responsibility and it is accountable for the accidents and injuries caused to pedestrians.

Does the Corporation think that the roads are only for vehicles?

As a Mayor, when I went to Denmark to take part in a conference, I noticed that there are separate lanes for bicycles. Based on that, we had taken steps to create an eight-km cycle lane in Anna Nagar, connecting 13 schools. But the regime change stalled the project. Now, without making any provisions, the Corporation made cycle paths by simply painting images of cycles on roads. No cyclist could use the path as other vehicles, too, use the lanes. The police are also hesitant to stop motor vehicles from using the cycle path. The corporation should make space for pedestrians and cyclists.

Explain the initiatives taken by you when you were the Mayor of Chennai Corporation?

To curb the encroachments and to evict street vendors, we built commercial complexes for street vendors in T Nagar, Royapuram, Saidapet, Ayanavaram, Moore Market Complex and other places. We built shelters for traffic police on roads so that they would come forward to help children and elderly persons to cross the roads and walk on pavements. To assist visually impaired persons, special textured tiles were laid on pavements.

As an MLA, do you still work to make pavements pedestrian-friendly?

Whenever I go for field inspection within my constituency (Saidapet), I take officials with me and ask them to clear obstructions on pavements. Sometimes, the officials will not remove encroachments if there is no pressure from the ruling party.

Despite the lack of proper pedestrian facilities in city roads, including major arterial ones, the Greater Chennai Corporation has not come forward to own up the responsibility.

When DT Next approached D Karthikeyan, the Commissioner of Chennai Corporation, with a questionnaire and sought an explanation for the civic body’s silence, he refused to answer or take responsibility of the issue at hand.

“The questionnaire is blaming Corporation. I cannot answer these types of questions. Our Chief Secretary monitors what we talk,” the Commissioner said.

Some of the questions that DT Next, on behalf of the residents, asked the Chennai Corporation were: What are the most common encroachments on city pavements and why is the Greater Chennai Corporation not removing them? We often hear of electrocution incidents and hazardous materials on pavements. If a citizen is injured, what is the Corporation’s accountability? When, according to you, will Chennai roads be pedestrian friendly? Since none of these questions got a response from the official in charge, we spoke to former Mayor and DMK legislator from Saidapet Ma Subramaniam instead.