According to a newspaper report, Master Junaid, a seven-year-old child, while crossing a road in Landhi area on 15th April 2006, was hit by an unknown vehicle and died on the spot. A pedestrian bridge could have possibly saved his life, but such bridges cannot be built all over the roads with vehicular traffic.
Another Sunday newspaper reports four additional deaths in traffic accidents. A mother and her young daughter lost their lives apparently due to a bus hitting the cab in which the family was travelling, near Natha Khan Bridge on Shahra-e-Faisal.
Two people reportedly died in another road accident, when a Karachi bound truck rammed into another truck parked on the National Highway.
Tragic road accidents occur ostensibly due to over speeding, wrong parking, careless driving, less than satisfactory traffic flow management, poor light and road conditions, lack of driving skill or negligence, etc God forbid, many more Junaids will continue losing their lives in this manner, every day, until the nation seriously implements the remedial measures for avoiding injuries and possible deaths.
A set of inter-related solutions involving the motorists, parents, pedestrians, traffic police, etc are required on the one hand and, on the other, there is need for measures pertaining to the physical conditions of roads, road signs, zebra crossings and the building of pedestrian bridges at suitable locations on the roads. The society must act now.
The City District Government Karachi (CDGK) reportedly has plans to build 15 additional pedestrian bridges at different locations in the city, including one on the Shahra-e-Faisal. The CDGK has been actively pursuing development projects for improving the physical infrastructure in the city. There is a long list of flyovers, under-passes, roads, roundabouts, parks, playgrounds, pedestrian bridges, etc that have become operational or would be made operational in the coming weeks after completion.
Karachi, a huge city still growing at a fast pace, is in dire need of many such infrastructure projects. Pedestrian bridges are an important infrastructure for any large city; however, each bridge has to be selected after careful review of its rationale and justification. This piece offers suggestions on certain related aspects for consideration by the CDGK and other government authorities.
Pedestrian bridges over highways and large roads will reduce accidents, improve traffic flow and possibly save many people from injury or death. The use and the functional utility of these bridges can be increased manifold if the following aspects are kept in view while planning and implementing such projects:
1. London, Paris, Washington DC and New York are large cities with more vehicular traffic than we have in Karachi and yet there may not be so many pedestrian bridges in each of the cities as we seem to plan for our city. The CDGK has plans for 28 pedestrian bridges, including 15 bridges proposed to be built by the CDGK from its own resources.
The need for new bridges may be determined keeping in view the impact of the fully-functional Karachi Circular Railway, Northern Bye-Pass, Layari Express Way, Metro Train and Buses and other similar projects. There is no point in building excessive number of bridges using scarce financial resources for traffic flow, which perhaps can be controlled with a little more but determined effort and resource allocation to the traffic police on the one hand and by better educating the motorists and the pedestrians.
2. The location of the pedestrian bridges over roads is important. Many lessons for location and designing of bridges can be learnt by closely observing the actions of the pedestrians as well as the motorists existing near the pedestrian bridges over M. A. Jinnah Road and Shahrah-e-Faisal. Even young and energetic people tend to avoid using the pedestrian bridges for crossing over to the other side of the roads. The observations may be supplemented by conducting on the spot interviews of the pedestrians using or avoiding the use of pedestrian bridges. Desk studies are no substitute for proper field surveys and actual experimentations.
3. Accidents sometimes happen as the footpaths are not cleared for use by the pedestrians. Footpaths are either occupied by people selling their wares or are being used for parking of motorcycles or other vehicles. People are obliged to walk on the road and sometimes are hit by passing vehicles. In Karachi, many footpaths are built over waste water drains. If the slabs covering the drains are broken due to any reason, there appear to be gaping holes, which can swallow the unwary pedestrians, resulting in serious injuries or death. The CDGK may take up building proper footpaths, which if un-encroached, can facilitate the pedestrians and substantially improve traffic flow.
4. Shahra-e-Faisal is the VVIP road in Karachi. One would agree that there is through and un-restricted flow of VVIP traffic to and from the Quaid-e-Azam Airport. However, at other times when there is no VVIP movement, one expects that traffic flow is managed with the proper operation of traffic signals and road cuts/U-turns on Shahra-e-Faisal, keeping in view the convenience of the large number of motorists on the one hand, and on the other, the pedestrians who are of all ages and include a large number of students.
5. The people of the areas, located near and around Chanesar Halt Railway Station on the left section of the Shahra-e-Faisal, (while coming from the Airport) between the Shaheed-e-Millat Road Flyover, and Shahra-e-Quaideen Road Flyover, have been inconvenienced since the Shahra-e-Quaideen Road Flyover became operational and the road cuts were blocked near Nursery Market. For going to Nursery Market or the schools and colleges in that area, the people of the above mentioned localities are obliged to use either of the two flyovers and reach the destination after a long detour. This generates un-necessary additional traffic as the motorists see no other way for joining the right section of the Shahra-e-Faisal. Perhaps there are similar other sections on Karachi roads which require long detours. The authorities are urged to consider the removal of the temporary blockade from the road cut/U-turn on Shahra-e-Faisal near Nursery Market to save the people from daily inconvenience, coupled with added fuel cost and waste of time.
6. There are many old men and women who are not strong or active enough to climb the bridge which is often quite high- 20 feet or near-about. For such people, like in developed countries, special traffic signals need to be installed with Zebra Crossings at appropriate locations. The signal usually is green and the vehicular traffic continues flowing. It is red for pedestrians. However, once the signal is activated by the people desirous of crossing the road by pushing a button on the pole, after a lapse of say one minute, the traffic light for the motorists turns red and the vehicular traffic comes to a halt, allowing the people to cross one section of the road as now the light is green for them. This operation may be repeated for crossing the other section of the road, if there is one. The traffic police may be around to monitor the situation and give traffic violation tickets to the drivers who fail to observe the traffic light/Zebra Crossing rules.
7. To induce the pedestrians desirous of going to the other side of the road by climbing over the pedestrian bridge, a number of attractions shall have to be provided at the site. The approach to the bridge should be clear of physical obstructions, or other obstructions in the form of street venders or beggars. The bridge should be of attractive design, beautifully painted, fully secured for children and old people, possibly with shade from the sun, side railings, shoulder high, to give a sense of security, bill boards not to obstruct the view of the pedestrians using the bridge and fitted possibly with escalators for the very old. The bridge should not have broken planks or side railings in disrepair or lights not in proper working order. Moreover, the beggars may not be taking posts near the entrance or other areas and there should be no loitering of seemingly undesirable characters near or on the bridge. Visible surveillance by the authorities will give confidence to the pedestrians. The CDGK might hold a design competition for each bridge and also go for proper public consultation before a decision is reached.
8. The CDGK may invite sponsorship on BOT basis, through the press, from banks, corporate sector including multi-nationals and any other interested parties for building and 10-15 year maintenance of pedestrian bridges at specific locations, against the right to display two bill boards of specified size for the whole duration without any taxes or charges. The rest of the space on the sides of the bridge should be earmarked for traffic signs and instructions for both the motorists and the pedestrians. The CDGK is urged to give the idea a try.
The CDGK might streamline the procedures for planning, designing, awarding, executing or operating infrastructure projects, including pedestrian bridges on scientific lines aiming at their optimal functional utility at the least cost, without compromising on the aesthetics of the surrounding landscape. Further, the authorities including the traffic police, might consider giving extensive advice and guidance to parents, motorists and children on the benefits of obeying traffic rules, the use of the pedestrian bridges and on the safe ways for road crossings.
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