“Very often, people don’t have a benchmark for footpath quality, especially if they haven’t travelled abroad or been exposed to places that have good facilities for pedestrians,” Mr Mhatre says. He reasons that that’s why there isn’t enough outrage about the quality or absence of footpaths in the country.
He also points out that most people see walking as an activity performed for leisure or exercise. And so, the infrastructure they associate with walking stops at gardens or walking tracks. In reality, however, people walk to various destinations daily, so the scope of walking infrastructure is far broader.
“Walking is the most economical and environment-friendly way to navigate one’s city and it’s high time our leaders paid as much attention to walking infrastructure as they do to public transport,” Mr Mhatre says.
Geetam Tiwari, a professor of civil engineering, says that the main problem is that too much focus is given to solving the problem of car congestion on roads.
“To improve the flow of traffic, authorities often narrow down footpaths or eliminate them entirely,” she says. Ms Tiwari says that this approach is problematic because doing so makes it difficult for pedestrians to access public transport systems, like buses and metros, which can take the pressure off the roads.
“It might seem counter-intuitive, but allowing the congestion to persist and focussing on improving infrastructure for pedestrians will help solve the traffic problem in the long run,” she says.
Ms Tiwari also says that the federal government should make it mandatory for states to implement the guidelines issued by the Indian Road Congress – a national organisation that lays down designing standards for roads and highways.
She says that cities can also implement their own Non-Motorised Transport Policy, external (NMTP) to create better infrastructure for cyclists and pedestrians.
“At the moment, only a handful of cities in India have experimented with a NMTP but its time more cities step up to the plate,” she adds.
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