Need to enhance facilities for pedestrians, say experts

They contribute maxium to total deaths in accidents

With the pedestrians contributing maximum to the total number of deaths in road accidents in the Capital in 2011, the transport planning experts emphasise the need to develop the non-motorised transport to prevent such incidents.

Non-motorised transport (NMT) includes dedicated lanes for cycles, cycle rickshaws and better facilities for pedestrians.

“The framework for developing facilities for pedestrians in the cities is among the salient features of the National Urban Transport Policy, 2006. The provisions are part of the salient features of the policy which aims at promoting NMT,” said Dr Pawan Kumar, Associate Town and Country Planner, Town and Country Planning Organisation. 

At a one-day workshop over transportation practices in India and the European Union held on Thursday, Kumar said there is an urgent need to promote the NMT because every individual is affected by it. “Even the people using private vehicles have to walk some distance. So everybody gets affected due to lack of proper pedestrian facilities,” he said.

The workshop was conducted in the Capital by the Observe Research Foundation in association with the Germany-based Rosa Luxemberg Stiftung on Thursday.

Highlighting the pedestrian pathways not being designed as per the standard requirements, Kumar said multiple agencies involved with development project is a major obstacle in promotion of NMT.

“While the government aims to constitute an unified Urban Metropolitan Transport Authority, it is advisable to create it on the lines of  Singapore Land Transport Authority.

The Singapore Authority has done wonders in promoting mass rapid transport as well as NMT because it had mandate of deciding over both transport infrastructure and land usage, which is not the case in India. In Delhi, bodies like DDA, MCD and NDMC have the sole right over land usage,” Kumar said. Kumar advised the government to earmark a percentage of the budgetary allocation for transport network, specifically for the development of NMT.