A PEDESTRIAN’S PERSPECTIVE OF THE NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION

Raka Choudhury 24-05-2012

Creating Better Facilities for Non Motorized Transport Users

WHY ARE WE TALKING ABOUT PEDESTRIANS AND NMT?

INDIA’S ROAD SAFETY: IN NUMBERS

! Every year some 1.3 million people die on the world’s roads = 3,500 every day

!  INDIA: Accounts for 12% of all road deaths !  This is >400 deaths every day !  3-4 times that number are injured

! How many are left permanently disabled?

! How many are NOT reported?

INDIA’S ROAD SAFETY: IN NUMBERS (CONTD.)

! Not all Road Deaths are on National and State Highways

!  2010 Statistics from MoRTH

!  National Highway Deaths: 36% !  State Highway Deaths: 27% !  This means 37% of all Road Deaths are happening on

urban and rural roads, not highways

! CAUSES for Road Deaths: !  Drivers’ Fault: 75%

!  Within this- ‘Exceeding lawful speed’ accounted for 58.3%

!  Cyclists: 1.3% !  Pedestrians: 2.6%

SPEED KILLS! BUT…

In densely-populated urban areas, we continue to: ! Prioritize cars and other motorized vehicles

! Put the onus for pedestrian safety on the pedestrian

! At the same time, provide inadequate facilities for pedestrians

WE PRIORITIZE VEHICULAR TRAFFIC ON URBAN STREETS

FREE FLOW, SIGNAL- FREE TRAFFIC FREE LEFT TURNS FOR VEHICULAR TRAFFIC

FREE FLOW, SIGNAL- FREE TRAFFIC U-TURNS AND FREE LEFTS INSTEAD OF SIGNALIZED RIGHT TURNS

FREE FLOW, SIGNAL- FREE TRAFFIC UNDERPASSES AND FLYOVERS

FREE FLOW, SIGNAL- FREE TRAFFIC UNDERPASSES AND FLYOVERS

LARGE TURNING RADII AT INTERSECTIONS ALLOW CARS TO TURN WITHOUT SLOWING DOWN

Gurgaon, Haryana

TIGHTEN KERB CORNER RADIUS TO SLOW TRAFFIC DOWN

Washington, DC

ACCESSING THE HUDA CITY METRO STATION

"  SCALE- Is this much road really necessary? "  FREE LEFT TURNS "  TURNING RADII- So large that easy to turn without the need to slow

down "  TRIAL & ERROR Traffic Mgmt- Two-way to One-way to two-way at

night

ACCESSING THE HUDA CITY METRO STATION

"  REMOVE Free Left Turns "  Reduce turning radius to reduce speed "  Provide obstruction-free pedestrian refuge at Medians "  Add High Visibility Crosswalks CLOSE to the intersection

Figure out if this side is one way or two-way and design

accordingly!

HOW WE PUT THE ONUS ON PEDESTRIANS

ROAD SAFETY PRESENTATION BY MORTH

Source: Safe Passage for Pedestrians ! Lots of good information and progressive

thoughts for pedestrian amenities: !  Shortest path for crossing !  Crossing at grade v/s foot over bridges !  Visibility to drivers !  Shady trees for comfort during summer !  Convenience of pedestrians !  Facilities for disabled

BUT…

Lists “Factors Contributing to Pedestrian

Accidents”:

o  When crossing a road combination of :

•  Failure of initial judgment

•  Failure to modify behavior of pedestrians

o  Many pedestrian involved in an accident didn’t see

the vehicle, many of these were saying that they saw

the vehicle too late

o  Normally, pedestrian crashes occur near the bus stop

PRESENTATION ALSO SAYS “ DON’T VIOLATE TRAFFIC RULES” WITH THIS IMAGE

Over the 16 or so kilometers between the Delhi-Gurgaon and 42nd Milestone toll plazas, there are only three pedestrian bridges and one subway. Lack of attention to adjacent land uses Need for inter-agency coordination? How?

BEFORE I MOVE ON FROM THE TOPIC OF SPEED….

!  “A car travelling at 50 km/h will typically require 13 meters

in which to stop, while a car travelling at 40 km/h will stop in

less than 8.5 meters”

--World Health Organization

!  If you were a pedestrian crossing (LEGALLY) when a

speeding car spots you from 10 meters away, wouldn’t you

rather that the driver was driving at 40 km/h and not 50 km/

h?

WHAT ARE THE PEDESTRIAN FACILITIES THAT WE ARE PROVIDING?

SIDEWALKS- NON EXISTENT

"  Between Sikanderpur Metro and Cyber City "  100,000 Office Workers "  Easy Walking Distance - Approximately 1km From The Metro

Station

AGAIN ON THE SECTOR ROAD TO CYBER CITY

SIDEWALKS: POOR QUALITY

GURGAON’S SIDEWALKS- RANGE FROM BAD...

TO WORSE…

TO WORST!

AND IT’S NOT JUST GURGAON

"  Maintenance is ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL

WHAT IS THE HEIGHT OF THIS FOOTPATH IN NOIDA?

WHAT IS THE HEIGHT OF THIS FOOTPATH IN NOIDA?

WE DO HAVE SOME SEAMLESS, WELL-MAINTAINED SIDEWALKS

CROSSWALKS

CROSSWALKS

CROSSWALKS

SOME GOOD EXAMPLES

SOME GOOD EXAMPLES

COULD WE ACTIVATE OUR SIDEWALKS?

GET RID OF HIGH OPAQUE WALLS TO MAKE IT A SAFE AND INTERESTING WALK?

WOULD YOU LIKE TO WALK HERE?

OR WOULD YOU PREFER THIS?

THE PROBLEM WITH OUR FOOTPATHS AND CROSSWALKS

! Physical barriers !  Begins and ends suddenly !  Obstructions !  Height of sidewalks and Disability Access !  Quality

! Considerations for local climate? ! Activated? ! Maintenance

TO SUMMARIZE AND CONCLUDE

CENTER FOR SCIENCE AND ENVIRONMENT FINDINGS FOR DELHI

!  Total number of daily car trips in Delhi - 3 million

!  Walking and cycling - 8 million

!  Cycling trips - 2.8 million (almost equal to car trips)

!  So, why are our pedestrians and cyclists being

ignored?

LET’S SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT ACCESSIBILITY

Mobility-based planning tends to evaluate transport system

performance based largely on traffic speeds and so favors

automobile-oriented transport improvement.

Accessibility-based planning considers other impacts and options….

If transportation is evaluated based on accessibility [people’s overall

ability to reach desired goods, services and activities], additional

transportation improvement options can be considered [besides

roadway, rideshare and public transit], including improved walking

and cycling conditions. -Todd Litman, VTPI

CONCLUSIONS

! Prioritize pedestrians over the need for speed

! Design Urban Roads to Slow Traffic Down-

educate traffic engineers that pedestrian

facilities are not “landscaping”

! Provide Pedestrian Amenities- if you build it

properly, they will follow traffic rules

! Coordinate with Land Use Planners (and include

them in training workshops).

FINAL THOUGHTS

!  Please spend a week car-free (or any other private transport

mode-free). Or one day every week for 6 months car-free.

!  Impossible to fully understand and address the needs of

pedestrians unless you experience what they experience

daily.

Questions and Comments?

Thank you!