Who needs footpaths?

Often we hear loud voices of the driver of the private vehicles saying that we need wider carriage ways and definitely do not need a footpath. Is this a fact? If all footpaths were removed and only carriage ways existed, would the traffic move at a much faster pace?
Think about it and you will arrive at the answer. The opposite will happen and the traffic will start crawling at an extremely slow pace. As many studies have clearly shown , 'the intermixing of vehicles and pedestrian movements in the absence of footpaths results in reduced speeds and increase in number of accidents. The provision of footpaths and pedestrian crossings and can reduce these conflicts to a great extent and increase the average speed. This low cost traffic improvement measure can bring out substantial reduction in emissions'.*
**Also data from the AP Police shows the following:
1. Dead: 263 Pedestrians: 263/ 391= 67%
2. Injured: 2047 Pedestrians: 2047/ 3447 = 59%,
3. 170/ 263 = 65% of the deaths to pedestrians occur while they are crossing the road.
4. 1151/ 2047= 56% of the injuries to pedestrians occur while they are crossing the road.
Once the motorised vehicle driver touches a pedestrian, the pedestrian is either dead or badly injured. Normally in India, the motorised driver is the one who is held to be at fault. So either the driver gets beaten up by the crowd or has to abscond fast leaving behind a hit and run case. Which ever way one looks at it, the driver is left behind with a trauma to deal with for life. Can we not avoid all this and make ourselves ( the drivers) safer?

So isn't it high time that we got the footpaths barricaded if necessary and safe pedestrian crossings and ensured that our carriage way was clear and drive worthy?


*Source: Study published by the EPTRI, April 2005.
**Source: AP Traffic Police data (2007)

Hi Tech City: Is there a difference?

On July 16, 2008, some of us from the Right to Walk Foundation went to Hi Tech city to meet the APIIC GM, who is in charge of construction of roads and footpaths in that area. We found to our horror that right opposite this office, the HSBC was encroaching the footpaths and putting them to a different use. We have since complained to the DCP, Cyberabad Police Station but so far no further progress is made.
The footpaths are actually beautiful, width about 12 feet and height about 8 inches. Ideal for walking. Can some one help us out?