The ever magnifying
traffic congestion in
the city has not left any sizeable space for the pedestrians as vehicular traffic and parking has eaten deep into the little confined space of the pedestrians.
In this situation, although there is a saying circulating the city now that “if you want to reach your destination early then walk”, but that limited space for walking is not even found or seen firstly due to footpaths which have worn out, with missing links at many sites and secondly due to the large scale ignorant parking which hardly leaves any space in the marginal streets and lanes.
Speaking to this daily, a number of residents in the city said that the state government should spare a thought for the pedestrians and can construct a few over-bridges in the heavily congested areas which sees the gathering of numerous vehicles as well as pedestrians so that movement of public and traffic can be balanced to an extent.
“I think that the overbridge in Dhankheti is meaningless since it is serving none except the goons and miscreants who create nuisance in it. This can be replaced with another say in Don Bosco and Laitumkhrah Point,” said a resident of Dhankheti. Another resident of Bivar Road said that a well conceived over-bridge is the need of the hour in Police Bazar as it is the only commercial hub in the city which is thronged by public and vehicle at any time of the day.
The city’s rampant traffic has created much difficulty for the school going toddlers and other students who have to encounter heavy traffic in the morning and evening hours. These residents said that such over-bridges can be useful in areas such as Fire Brigade so that students do not have to indulge in crossing the roads and run the risk of hitting by a vehicle. But it has also to be seen that these over-bridges does not become a nest for the nuisance mongers.
These residents rued that footpath space have reduced considerably due to the widening of roads in most parts of the city and urged that the authority should keep in mind that the road does not belong to the vehicles only.
The other footpaths that have lived their sizes amidst rapid urbanization of the city are in a dilapidated condition and there is an urgency to repair them since growing population and traffic has taken its toll on the footpaths, too. At a time when most roads are occupied by stranded vehicles, these footpaths are the only source of communication left for the commuters, opined many.
What really is a problem to be considered in these circumstances is that there are important streets which fails to give pedestrians any space to walk. Moreover, there have been recent documented cases where small cars and pick up vehicles are parked on the footpath which denies one to walk away from cars and bikes plying on the streets. However, another genuine problem affecting the public is the absence of zebra crossing in the city due to which pedestrians are seen crossing the roads anywhere and everywhere in the city.
With the dysfunctional traffic light posts coupled with innumerable vehicles, the difficulty of these pedestrians have doubled in recent times. “Though in big cities with huge traffic congestion, zebra crossing is compulsorily found for the benefit of the pedestrians but that is practically inexistent here as it can be seen that most of the crossing have faded off with times in the city,” said a mother of a school going child. Echoing the concern of these parents, an elderly resident opined that the authorities can earmark important zebra crossing in heavy traffic areas than it would become easier for the traffic police personnel to man vehicular and public movement. He also said that the areas with educational institutions should have zebra crossing compulsorily for the safety of the students. This will also help the vehicles to slow down whenever they approach such crossings.
With much being said, it is up to the authorities to make an initiative to streamline movement of both traffic and pedestrians.
(By Rajib Roy)