The Deccan Chronicle 21.09.2010
Students design friendly footpathsSept. 20: Going by a recent survey around 50% of accidents that take place every year in the city are the result of the poor condition of its pavements, which forces pedestrians on to busy roads and in the way of oncoming traffic. The BBMP may now have some help in building better pavements as students of the R.V. College of Engineering are working on designing footpaths that are more people- friendly.
The team of MTech students is taking into consideration the number of pedestrians using a footpath when deciding on its width and is also insisting on pruning the roots of trees that line them. “These pavements will have barricades to ensure that vehicles dont climb up them and will be well illuminated as well,” says Prof. M N Srihari who is guiding the students in the project.
The pavements will be categorised as commercial, residential and for public use to decide on the volume of pedestrian traffic they are likely to see and make them more comfortable for use. Also, they will be linked to zebra crossings to make sure that pedestrians don’t risk their lives crossing the roads at random. The idea is to help the BBMP re-do the footpaths in several parts of the city, explains Prof. Srihari, adding that once the project is completed it will be submitted to the civc agency for approval and execution. He is optimistic about selling the idea to the BBMP although its recent Budget has allocated merely Rs 44 crore for making footpaths more pedestrian-friendly in the city.
