Published on Nov 30, 2023
Inadequate pedestrian facility is always a major concern in Bengaluru. The recent shift in the priority to motorized transport needs and the deteriorating condition of existing pedestrian facilities has contributed to this scenario. Most of the pedestrian sidewalks in Bengaluru showcases inadequate width, lack of supporting street furniture, frequent utility repair works, illegal parking, street vendor encroachment which forces the pedestrian to walk on the road risking their life. The increase in number of pedestrian crashes in Bengaluru reflects the same. To resolve this issue and to ensure safe, sustainable and pedestrian friendly sidewalks, Govt. of Karnataka has implemented newfangled pedestrian sidewalks popularized under Tender S.U.R.E. projects. Tender SURE adopts unique design guidelines where the pedestrians are given prime preference followed by non-motorized transport, public transport and other motorized transport. The design focuses on three major aspects – a well designed sidewalk for the safe movement of pedestrians and cyclist, consistent traffic and travel lane widths for ease of traffic flow, shifting and relaying of sub terrain utilities to avoid frequent digging of roads.
The design also incorporates bicycle lane, facilities for disabled pedestrians, bus bays, parking bays, hawker zones, along with required street fixtures and other intersection geometry improvements. From the planning to implementation stage, tender SURE project proposals are well consulted amongst various stake holders in the city and have been subjected to many criticisms. However, these projects have not been evaluated and the utility and performance of the same have not been quantified. The current study focuses on the above background and investigates the effectiveness of the implemented Tender S.U.R.E. pedestrian infrastructure projects.
Keywords : SURE, Newfangled Pedestrian Infrastructure, pedestrians, bus bays, parking bays
The followings are the key objectives of the study.
To study the design specification of Tender S.U.R.E pedestrian infrastructure to meet the needs of the road users.
To quantify the performance of existing Tender S.U.R.E pedestrian facility by its level of serviceThe followings are the key objectives of the study.
To study the design specification and to evaluate the performance, one should focus on various aspects of the project. The present study focuses on diverse elements of Tender S.U.R.E such a traffic, pedestrians and bicyclists, on-street parking, street furniture’s, safety measures etc. The public perception is also quantified through opinion survey. The effectiveness is analyzed and reckoned through quantitatively and qualitatively. PLoS represents the quantitative measurement based on the available space per pedestrian, which is a measure of pedestrian mobility. Walkability Index (WI) and QoS indicates the qualitative measurement through perception which is a measure of pedestrian’s comfort. The methodology adopted is depicted in the following chart.
The present study analyses Tender S.U.R.E. pedestrian infrastructure at four locations - Vittal Mallya Hospital Road, Cunningham Road, St. Mark’s Road and Museum Road. The details of data collection is briefed in the following table.
The data collected according to table 1 is analyzed and the results are summarized in Table 2
Table 2: Data Analysis of Vittal Mallya & Cunningham Road
The present footpath design specification of Tender S.U.R.E is well apt for the pedestrian as well as bicyclist’s movement. Provision of uniform lane width and on-street parking facility have improved the traffic scenarios. Intelligent shifting and re-laying of the utility services under the footpath surface with the inspection chambers at regular intervals has improved repetitive digging of roads and footpath. The widened footpath is well protected from the vehicular movement and makes the pedestrians safe throughout. Ramp facilitates the wheel chair users and bicyclists to get an easy and comfortable access to the footpath. Trees and plantations offer shade and protect the pedestrians from sharp lights of the vehicles during night. Street lights at regular intervals provide good visibility. Footpath environment is kept clean and hygienic with well planned waste management systems. It is observed that, all the 4 locations have the Pedestrian Level of Service as ‘A’ and QoS ‘A’ and ‘B’. This indicates the existing operating conditions of footpath and its suitability for walking mode of travel. The walkability Index of all the footpath is observed as greater than 150. The present PLoS and QoS are signposts of Tender S.U.R.E’s mobility and comfort.
Though the new-fangled pedestrian infrastructure stands as picture-perfect, it suffers few drawbacks.
Though the footpath designs offers a good mobility and required comfort to pedestrians, it faces considerable issues while crossings. Adequate pedestrian crossing measures are required to resolve this issue.
The on-street parking offers great relief to the motor vehicles to park their vehicles especially in CBD areas. The effectiveness of the parking system was observed less as most of the vehicles observed to utilize the parking space throughout the day which reduces the parking turn-over. Measures like restricted parking hours, parking meter need to be implemented to tackle such issues.
The present pedestrian footpath is limited to few kilometers at selected CBD areas. The lack of connectivity of the infrastructure to the neighboring places will definitely discourage user’s utility, specially the disabled pedestrians and bicyclists.
The performance assessment is a continuous process and need to be evaluated at regular intervals to identify the performance of each project. Hence there is a need to continue the study every year to identify the scenario and for further improvements.
A careful study is required to resolve the snags of existing pedestrian footpath. Measures to regulate on-street parking and to provide a safe pedestrian crossings can be achieved from further studies.
