It’s unreasonable for us to expect a pedestrian-friendly city when our government has bigger plans to focus on
Pedestrians jump over a divider in order to cross the road outside Churchgate station on February 6. File Pic/Pradeep Dhivar
I am old enough to not remember road dividers, and that thought amused and shocked me in equal measure when reports of raised barricades began making their way to newspapers last month. When did they become such an intrinsic part of this city, I wondered, and when did I stop noticing? When did we stop crossing streets at random, without a care for life, limb, or the world, and start jumping over dividers?
ADVERTISEMENT
The barriers in question crept into our public discourse when angry people began accusing the BMC of making it harder for people to cross the streets. There were also accusations of them demolishing dividers that didn’t need replacing, which I dismissed because of the implicit hint of corruption. If there is one thing every resident of Bombay has always known, it is that the BMC is incapable of corruption. I knew that if those barriers were being demolished, they must have been removed for a good reason. Perhaps the shade of paint used on the older ones was wrong, and not in keeping with the aesthetic that influences the rest of our public infrastructure.
Apparently, the BMC has initiated beautification projects worth Rs 1,700 crore, and the replacement of dividers is part of that plan. Some of the new ones are almost three feet tall though, which is why a few people have been complaining about how much harder it is to now get across.
The complaints struck me as unfair because they seemed to imply that our streets are supposed to prioritise the rights of pedestrians. Where did this ridiculous notion come from in a city as advanced and civilised as ours? It seemed to me as if pedestrians have already been given so much, and are now simply used to the idea of demanding more. What will they want next? Roads without paver blocks?
Isn’t it true that a part of every footpath is already open to pedestrians? Yes, there are illegal constructions, the odd religious structure, some fast food stalls, and homeless people also sharing those spaces, but isn’t it unreasonable for us to expect the BMC or state government to remove these obstructions? When will they get around to doing the work they have been elected to do if all their time is spent on making life easy for pedestrians? We already spend way too much time on walking spaces and far too little on more coastal roads for vehicular traffic.
Also read: Public amenities must not be misused
Road dividers exist for a reason. They are to allow for the smooth flow of traffic, which is a lot more important than the need for people on one side of a street to get to the other. It’s why we already have impeccably maintained traffic stops where people can cross safely, and pedestrian overbridges every 10 kilometres or so. If pedestrians need to cross a street, why can’t they plan their walks in advance and cross a few kilometres before their destination?
I have no idea if the BMC will acquiesce and reduce the height of new road dividers, but maybe we should initiate a larger conversation about whether they need to be replaced with walls instead. If we have walls instead of dividers, it will compel pedestrians to either walk less or plan their trips better. The walls can also be used for advertising, generating crores for the BMC, and this money can then be used for more important projects such as renaming our railway stations or putting up a few more statues in our city to make it more Instagram-friendly.
We need to get over our obsession with ‘walking spaces’ and focus on the more important things our city needs. The BMC and state government are, quite rightly, prioritising the needs of vehicle owners over pedestrians because it recognises that a city with more cars automatically comes across as a more advanced place to live in. Walkers tend to dawdle aimlessly, and there is no place for that kind of activity in the model of Shanghai we intend to emulate soon.
For now, I suppose the road dividers will continue to exist, until some brave and intelligent politician puts together a committee of experts and insists on a more practical solution. If these new, taller road dividers are unavoidable, perhaps the BMC could consider adding monkey bars or other gymnasium equipment along these barriers to encourage people to exercise while they wait for traffic to clear. After all, this is an organisation known the world over for its brilliant ideas.
When he isn’t ranting about all things Mumbai, Lindsay Pereira can be almost sweet. He tweets @lindsaypereira
Send your feedback to mailbag@mid-day.com
The views expressed in this column are the individual’s and don’t represent those of the paper.
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
