Right to 'foot traffic' gone

Pedestrians constitute 51pc of the victims of road fatalities, says study

30 September 2011, 18:00 PM

Unb, Dhaka

The footpath alongside the stretch of road between Malibagh and Khilgaon in the city lies littered with garbage, forcing pedestrians onto the traffic lanes. The photo was taken yesterday.Photo: STAR

City dwellers have lost their right to "foot traffic" as going out for a walk in Dhaka City has become riskier than in the past with the elderly people, women and children being the worst victims, according to senior citizens. Foot traffic means, "The presence and movement of people walking around in a particular space." M Fazlur Rahman, a former secretary, attributes the growing risk of foot traffic in this sprawling city to a good number of reasons like road crash, brick fall, billboard crash, mugging, plying motorbikes on walkways, lack of streetlight, open manholes and rundown walkways. Some other problems he has identified are occupying footpaths by vendors, shop owners, illegal parking, piling of construction materials and making footpaths sloppy by shop owners to facilitate the movement of private cars for inside parking. The city areas known as the worst for foot traffic include Sayedabad, Jatrabari, Motijheel, Gulistan, Kakrail, Malibagh, Mouchak, Moghbazar, Rampura, Badda and the old parts of Dhaka. Pedestrians are the most vulnerable group in Dhaka City when it comes to road accident and other hazards, as they constitute 51 percent of the victims of road fatalities, says a study suggesting immediate steps to improve foot traffic. Mohd S Kiwan, a teacher of Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology and Asif-uz-Zaman Khan, a teacher of Buet, conducted the study. The incident of brick fall from under-construction buildings in the city has also become a big concern. On July 16 this year, Munna, an HSC examinee of Tejgaon College, died on the spot after he was hit by a brick fall from an under-construction building at Panthapath. “This is completely a nightmare to go out for a walk in this notorious city. Things are so bad that coming back home safe is not sure,” says Engineer Mujibul Haque, another retired government official in his mid-60s. “In Dhaka, car traffic has replaced foot traffic. The car-dependent infrastructure we are building today is the result of an intentional choice to push everyone into a singular mode of transportation,” he said. Engineer Ali Ashraf, a city planner, said foot traffic is an important consideration in today's urban planning. Ashraf, also the President of Bangladesh Institute of Planners, Chittagong chapter, swiped at the city authorities for being reluctant to ensure the safety of pedestrians. When contacted, Sadek Hossain Khoka, the mayor of Dhaka City Corporation, said, “We're trying to improve the situation, but there are some responsibilities on the part of the police to keep the footpaths free from illegal occupations.” He also blamed the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartipakkha (Rajuk) for being reluctant about encroachment of walkways by various markets, shopping complexes and apartment buildings.