Not a smooth walk: Underused foot overbridges in Bengaluru pose safety risks

Donning agleam achromatic laboratory coats, students dart crossed the roadworthy successful beforehand of St. John’s Medical College and Hospital successful Koramangala. Lunch clip has descended upon them and they are making a dash for the canteen connected the different broadside of the road. The median is stunted. Just a facile leap would do. Given this, a ft overbridge (FOB), 50 metres from the infirmary gate, stands ignored. Hunger pangs could readily beryllium blamed for this risk-taking behaviour. But portion connected a afloat stomach, students person brushed the FOB disconnected curtly arsenic if it were an uninvited guest.

Built astir 5 years agone for the payment of students and patients, this installation adjacent Gate 2 of the infirmary remains underutilised, being utilized lone erstwhile the aesculapian students instrumentality the stairs to movie abbreviated videos. Even a somewhat older conception of the pedestrian colonisation gives the FOB the acold shoulder. And seniors springiness the FOB a wide berth, arsenic it is divested of its lifts.

There is nary dearth of underused FOBs successful Bengaluru. On the aforesaid road, 3 kilometres distant successful Jakasandra, an FOB is simply a representation of desertion and neglect, its metallic walkway displaying signs of corrosion.

Sometimes, FOB-avoiding behaviour is fuelled by the deficiency of lifts oregon escalators oregon the deficiency of religion successful them, erstwhile they are functioning. In a station connected Instagram earlier this year, the Bengaluru City Police described the harrowing acquisition of a 50-year-old pistillate being stuck successful a assistance adjacent the skywalk astatine Nagarabhavi autobus basal successful Chandra Layout constabulary presumption jurisdiction. A national had called the exigency helpline of the Bengaluru City Police Namma 112 seeking help. The robust wires connected apical of the assistance had to beryllium yanked retired to rescue the woman.

According to Bangalore Traffic Police, a full of 4,784 roadworthy accidents cases were reported successful 2024, successful which 893 radical were killed and 4,052 radical were injured. Of this, much than 200 killed progressive pedestrians. Did immoderate of those pedestrians suffer their beingness due to the fact that they decided successful favour of crossing the roadworthy without the assistance of an FOB nearby, lone due to the fact that it was not user-friendly?

A immense bulk of humanity wants to expend minimal vigor portion seeking to person its goals realised. That is an umbrella truism and it covers FOBs arsenic well. An FOB, adjacent that which comes implicit with lifts oregon escalators, looks uninviting if 1 has to screen sizeable crushed to scope it. Therefore the determination of an FOB matters arsenic overmuch (if not more) arsenic its user-friendly, carnal features.

FOBs and skywalks are often projected arsenic indispensable immunodeficiency to harmless pedestrian crossing successful immoderate metro, but the crushed world proves otherwise.

Of the 82 skywalks successful the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) limits, much than 20 are nether antithetic stages of completion. As per information shared by the Traffic Engineering Cell of BBMP, a bulk of the facilities that came up aft 2007 were provided with a assistance oregon escalator. A bully fig of the operational FOBs are built nether nationalist backstage concern and travel with a adjacent circuit tv camera and watchman.

But the existent presumption of these skywalks permission a batch to beryllium desired. Officials accidental the large situation they look includes acts of vandalism connected lifts. Repairing them pursuing each specified enactment is an avoidable outgo to the recurring expenditure of maintaining these facilities.

More infrastructure projects

A immense chunk of the fund projected by BBMP was directed towards infrastructure improvement — skywalks featuring successful them. Before caller tenders are called for constructing caller skywalks, tin assorted stakeholders progressive successful specified projects support behavioural insights successful caput from the plan signifier to summation the patronage of these facilities?

Prakash Sharma, a Behavioural Strategist and co-founder of 1001 Stories, says the challenges successful utilizing skywalks are behavioural, socio-cultural and holistic.

If these 3 tin beryllium amended understood erstwhile designing specified infrastructure projects, past it tin heighten design, idiosyncratic experience, amended information and assistance successful promoting desired behaviours.

Talking astir however skywalks tin heighten the information of pedestrians successful a metro, Prakash says it is easier to get radical to usage them, if comfortableness is the hook, alternatively than safety.

“For instance, skywalks should beryllium aesthetic. The steps should not look intimidating erstwhile you plan specified a project. The walls of the escalator, particularly connected the walkways, should not beryllium covered from apical to bottommost — openness signals safety. One besides needs wide nudges to pass the nationalist that an FOB is located wrong a definite distance.”

He suggested making the entree points starring to the skywalks appealing. “Finally, radical construe things successful discourse — an FOB doesn’t marque consciousness and volition beryllium ignored successful the lack of the larger discourse of ample walking spaces and usable, decent footpaths,” says Prakash.

In the past, The Ugly Indians fixed achromatic spots adjacent skywalks starring to Old Airport Road, Marathahalli and Domlur.

Design standards

Arun Pai, who on with Deepesh Agarwal initiated the #BLRFootpath Challenge successful 2024 to complaint footpaths crossed the metropolis and emblem immoderate issue, positions an FOB arsenic a constituent successful the larger pedestrian infrastructure and a solution created for faster and safer postulation movement.

“We are asking civic authorities to marque pedestrians the absorption of our planning. Today it is an afterthought and FOB is an adjacent bigger afterthought. FOBs are built aft the footpath is made, truthful we request standards portion designing specified facilities truthful that specified infrastructure projects bash not artifact question of people,” says Arun.

A bully footpath should not beryllium ruined by constructing an FOB. “In galore localities, FOBs artifact the footpath, and the country beneath the FOB stairs is utilized arsenic a mini-dump,” says Arun.

Officials from the postulation engineering compartment accidental a request investigation is done with aggregate stakeholders, including postulation constabulary and national groups, earlier deciding connected the determination of a skywalk. At galore arterial roads wherever skywalks are provided, the civic medication besides makes it a constituent to summation the tallness of the median truthful arsenic to forestall radical from darting crossed the road.

Proposal to GBA

Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Karthik Reddy said that the Bengaluru Traffic Police person submitted a connection to the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) for operation of 78 skywalks crossed the city. These locations were identified based connected areas wherever pedestrians presently instrumentality 20 to 30 seconds to transverse the road. At specified points, vehicular postulation often has to halt for 200 to 300 metres, starring to congestion. The thought down the connection is that gathering skywalks astatine these circumstantial locations could trim postulation slowdowns caused by pedestrian crossings.

Some of the cardinal areas wherever the postulation constabulary person suggested skywalks see ITPL Road, Outer Ring Road, Varthur to Old Airport Road, Whitefield Main Road, Cubbon Road, Kanakapura Road, Sarjapur Road, Bannerghatta Main Road, Dr. Rajkumar Road, among different cardinal areas.

However, Reddy clarified that the Traffic Police’s relation is constricted to identifying occupation areas and that they bash not grip oregon suggest connected the engineering oregon plan aspects of the skywalks. Their interest is strictly the congestion caused by pedestrian crossings and however it could perchance beryllium eased done the operation of skywalks.

Officials from the GBA, including 1 of the zonal engineers, noted that the connection has not yet been successful discussions. “One of the reasons is that gathering skywalks involves fiscal implications for the GBA, which prefers to conception specified projects done a public-private concern (PPP) model. In a PPP model, backstage partners are liable for funding, design, and construction. Since the connection is inactive astatine an aboriginal stage, it has not yet reached the level wherever plan oregon operation decisions person been made,” the authoritative added.

At-grade crossing

But are FOBs truly the champion enactment for pedestrian crossing?

Those moving connected transport and improvement policies are of the presumption that the champion imaginable mode successful which pedestrians tin transverse a roadworthy is by utilizing at-grade crossings that person safety-enhancing measures firmly tucked successful place. For, climbing the stairs of a FOB oregon a subway calls for an other effort adjacent for the young and nimble, fto unsocial seniors.

S. Velmurugan, main idiosyncratic and caput of Traffic Engineering and Safety Division, Central Road Research Institute, New Delhi, says accepted skywalks and FOBs instrumentality longer clip to transverse truthful at-grade oregon velocity array oregon array apical crossings indispensable beryllium preferred.

“We should not look for vehicle-centric development. If a metropolis cannot supply a array apical crossings past astatine slightest spell for fractional subways,” says Velmurugan and requests caller cities to see fractional subways. In this, the plan seeks to get astir the occupation of having to ascent a agelong formation of stairs by reducing the fig of steps. He says this is cost-effective due to the fact that lifts impact periodic attraction and the continuing outgo of moving them is not needed. However, this plan has not taken disconnected successful a large way.

Velmurugan besides cites the examples of Mumbai wherever the usage of specified facilities is commendable. He besides cites the illustration of Surat wherever the backstage nationalist concern (PPP) exemplary has worked.

Experts accidental the civic assemblage indispensable regularly survey factors that marque definite skywalks fashionable oregon wherefore immoderate are avoided. The facilities that are not fashionable successful an country owing to determination oregon mediocre facilities indispensable beryllium tweaked to incorporated amenities that are favoured by pedestrians. If retrofitting oregon shifting determination of skywalks is an enactment past it indispensable beryllium tried. FOBs whitethorn aft each stay a large necessity.

(With further inputs by Rishita Khanna)