Date post: | 02-Aug-2015 |
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Outline of the presentation
~ About the platform ~
~ The importance of pedestrian facilities ~
~ The purpose of this audit walk ~
~ The walk itself ~
~ Problems ~
~ Recommendations ~
~ Conclusion ~
What is Walking Classes Unite?
A platform that unites pedestrians, cyclists and
public transport users as a constituent.
A forum in which regular users of particular
roads can voice their concerns and
suggestions for their improvement
A platform that respects the hawkers right to
livelihood as outlined by the National
Hawkers Policy.
A pressure group to demand that authorities
take immediate steps to remedy these
problems of inaccessibility and lack of
usability
Why are pedestrian issues
important?• Walkers constitute 30 per cent of the road users,
but are the most marginal and overlooked by city development plans.
• Pedestrians are at risk of injury on the road from motorized vehicles.
63 per cent of the victims of road accidents are pedestrians, while 23 per cent of these accidents are caused by cars.
• This population comprises of the most environmentally responsible road users.
680 new vehicles added daily in Chennai (10% growth), while the growth of road space is only 2-3% (cited The Times of
India and Dr. KP Subramanian).
Current road developments prioritizes traffic flow for motorized vehicles at the expense of pedestrians space, e.g. road widening,
one-ways and flyovers.
Pedestrians at Risk: Accident
RatesVictim (%) Impacting Vehicle (%)
Pedestrian/ 63 Single vehicle 6
Cyclist
M2W 27 M2W 5
M3W 2 M3W 1
Car 3 Car 23
Bus/Truck 5 Bus/Truck 65
**Delhi Traffic Police (2004), courtesy Kavi Bhalla
Statistics on Chennai transportation
Mode of Transportation (%)
Walking 29%
Bicycle 14%
Public bus 38%
Commuter rail 4%
2-wheelers 7%
Car 3%
Others 5%
**Source: The World Bank
The purpose of the audit
• to survey road conditions with needs of
disabled persons in mind
• to highlight the difficulties of school
children and parents en route to school
• to evolve recommendations for road
improvements to protect school children
About the Audit
• From the Thiruvanmiyur Train Station (MRTS) to the entrance of Spastics Society of Tamil Nadu.
• 150 people did the audit walk– Students
– Parents
– Staff members
– Volunteers
• A discussion was held with participants
The Audit
• Section 1: From MRTS exit to the first intersection across the Old Mamallapuram Road (OMR)
• Section 2: Crossing the road from the first intersection on OMR to Tidel Park.
• Section 3: From Tidel park to the junction of OMR and Taramani Road
• Section 4: From the junction to the National Institute of Technical Teachers Training and Research.
• Section 5: Intersection between National Institute and Spastic Society.
• Although there was a sidewalk, participants were
forced to walk on the service road alongside
moving vehicles such as 2-wheelers.
Why?
Participants were unable to use the pavement
for these reasons:
• Ramp from MRTS ends in service road
• Blockages (piles of gravel and sand from the
MRTS construction)
Participants were unable to use the pavement for these reasons:
• The pavement is too high for pedestrians
• No sloping access for people in wheelchairs (others had to lift the wheelchairs and place them on the pavement)
The participants were forced to walk on the service road
• Dangerous proximity to moving traffic from bothdirections (thanks to a free left turn policy);
Walking on the pavement also unsafe
• 2-wheelers from underground parking of MRTS wrongly trafficked towards the pedestrians
Despite these difficulties
• Easier than using the foot over-bridge located in front of MRTS exit
• “We did not use the foot-over bridge because we have calipers and cannot climb the high stairs”
– Sasikala and Krithika, Spastic Society students
Even mobile persons have difficulty
• “I could not climb on to the pavement without support, I was helped by others.”
- Sudha, a visually challenged special educator
• The foot-over bridge as a safe alternative for pedestrians is not an option for anybody who is unable to ascend and descend 50 stairs.
• We estimate the normal wait time for crossing would be longer than 15 minutes.
• Very difficult to complete this stretch in accordance with the pedestrian signals.
Why?
• Too little time to cross two lanes of traffic– Green man signal for
pedestrians lasted 12s.
• No synchronization between signals for pedestrians and vehicles– Green man signal
allowing pedestrians to cross and the free left turn signal for vehicles were on simultaneously
• No audio signals.
• Pedestrians at the
median are at risk
due to U-Turns
made during
pedestrian green
signal.
• Vehicles such as 2-wheelers and share autos use this sidewalk to avoid the one-way stretches on the OMR.
• This vehicle use has already damaged the sidewalk– sections of paving stones had come loose and caused a hazard
to participants.
A case of good intentions…
• To stop vehicles from encroaching on the pedestrian space, a pillar was laid across the pavement and a steel guard placed on the service lane. However, this has not stopped the vehicles from squeezing through the steel guards onto the side.
…and bad implementation
• The pillar became an obstacle for disabled pedestrians because they could not climb over it and were forced to walk around the steel guard on the service road.
And…
• There were many vehicles that were coming into the service lane at the same time, which resulted in our direct contact with oncoming traffic.
• The group felt that even on this good pavement, they did not have adequate space to walk.
• Several protruding manholes along the pavement length.
• Open electricity lines lay exposed, posing a potential hazard to all road users.
• A tea shop obstructed the sidewalk substantially, forcing us onto the road again.
• “When you see a pavement, you should feel „OK, this is safe, I can walk here‟. But in this stretch we feel, „OK I‟ll walk on the road‟”
- A student of the school
• No zebra crossing for pedestrians to cross over to
Spastic Society.
• No signs indicating a school zone or speed limit
• Continuous flow of fast traffic.
– Students have to walk onto the road and signal vehicles to stop.
• The median was dug up, leaving a gap in the cement, difficult for persons in wheelchairs to cross smoothly.
• Vehicles on this stretch often used each one of the two lanes as a dual carriageway.
– So, students had to cross three lanes of oncoming traffic instead of two.
• The pavement on the other side has been fully dug up to install cables.
Conclusion
• This audit re-examined the road through the eyes of persons with physical disabilities.
• We found that even with the sophisticated, high-investment resources that this road has received, it is still dangerous for disabled students to walk to school.
• We demand that authorities take immediate steps to remedy these oversights.