A Forgotten People…

“Indian roads were at their deadliest in 2014 claiming more than 16 lives every hour on average. Over 1.41 lakh people died in crashes, 3% more than the number of fatalities in 2013. The numbers of crashes and of people left injured were also the highest levels since the recording of such data started in India—at 4.5 lakh and 4.8 lakh respectively.” (Times of India; Dipak K. Dash, 2014)

Who cares? Bangalore wasn’t even mentioned in this article. Yup, my bad! I tend to see the worst in everything around me, especially Hosur Road. Oh, but wait…

“The highway extending from Kudlu gate to Huskur gate near Electronic City, saw the highest numbers of accidents resulting in spot deaths in Bengaluru over the last three years. In 2014, 36 out of 55 fatal accidents in Bengaluru were on Hosur Road.” (Citizen Matters; Pavan Kulkarni, 2015)

Let me attempt to try a thought experiment on you, when you’re blind folded and asked to cross the road at Hosa Road Junction. The only sense which can help is your touch and sound but there’s too much noise, blaring horns, vendors yelling, dust on the ground, a banana peel which you nearly slip on and nobody around to guide you because everybody is busy with their own life. How scary was that feeling? This is just an inkling of how it’s like to be disabled and attempting to use any public space in most parts of India.

PC: http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/bengaluru/They-Walked-Blindfolded-for-a-Cause/2014/08/25/article2396836.ece

Such a walk was recently organised by Project Vision group in MG Road, in Bangalore, in an attempt to create awareness on eye donation and making people empathetic to those who can’t see or have lost their vision.

It’s been nine years since the day Sheroo asked Rahul if she can help him cross the road. Express photo by Prashant Nadkar, Mumbai, 17/12/2015 Smita Nair Story

In one of my earlier posts, I had mentioned how I watched a blind man cross the road with ease, using his sense of sound as a guide to escape the vehicular traffic and get to the other side. While talking to a few of my seniors, I was also made aware of how people in wheelchairs cross (with a lot of difficulty) and my faculty alerted me to the actual definition of who is actually DISABLED?!

PC: https://www.minnpost.com/second-opinion/2015/11/pedestrian-wheelchair-users-are-increased-risk-dying-road-collisions-study-fi

The CPWD (Central Public Works Department) of India, in their ‘Guidelines and Space Standards for Barrier Free Built Environment For Disabled And Elderly Persons’ defines 4 different types of disability:

1. Non-ambulatory: Confinement of individuals to wheelchairs
2. Semi-ambulatory: Impairments which cause individuals to walk with difficult and insecurity, individuals with braces, crutches, amputees, arthritis, spastics and those with pulmonary and cardiac ills
3. Hearing: Deafness or hearing handicaps which make them insecure in public areas because he is unable to communicate or hear warning signals
4. Sight: Total blindness or impairments affecting sight where the individual functioning in public areas is insecure or exposed to danger

Now, I urge you to think about your grandparents crossing that same junction without having someone a little more agile to help. Is it actually required to create a barrier free environment? Whose responsibility is it to create such a space? What do these spaces actually entail? Have all the buildings you work/study/live/eat in been designed to support the disabled? Have you ever wondered why a person in a wheel chair doesn’t travel on a bus? Ever wondered how they would get ON the bus? Ever noticed how people with weak joints avoid public transport?

In a democratic republic like India, when everyone is demanding their rights be it for clean air or wider roads, why is it that nobody seems to be fighting for the disabled? At some point, isn’t it our duty to ensure that everyone has the right to ‘CROSS THE ROAD’ safely, with no insecurity… I mean, that’s the least one could ask for, right?

As an Architecture student, one of the aspects we were grilled on most of our design projects was the importance of how disabled people may use the same space as us. I remember days when we would have designed bathrooms for able bodied people and close to the finish of our design, reminded that we hadn’t remembered to measure the spaces according to the wheelchair. We would go back to the drawing board and keep working at it until our bathrooms could be accessible to people in wheelchairs and other physical disabilities. If an exercise in graduate school was this tedious, shouldn’t the City Planners do the same?

According to the CPWD guidelines, the solutions to these problems are very basic and if designers along with planners sat down together, could create wonderful solutions for these realtime everyday problems. As builders, designers and architects are the users of this standard, it is in their hands to ensure that such an environment be created for all categories of people. This isn’t an economic issue as most solutions are cost-effective and moreover, this sort of work will help to provide a framework for developing policies to ensure a barrier free environment and eliminate the lack of awareness in both the public and private sectors to the problem of accessibility.

As simple solutions which have been tried and tested in other countries, information boards in braille for the sight impaired, the use of paved guiding blocks and installations of audible signages could be the way forward. Whereas for the hearing impaired, boards with easily comprehendible text, illuminated signages and layout diagrams is definitely the answer.

Layout Diagrams helping the deaf find their way without having to ask for help and raised lettering to help the blind.

PC: http://www.guidedogs.com.au/news-and-events/news/20-06-2013/sydneysiders-with-impaired-vision-to-trial-new-braille-street-signs

If these solutions are NOT cost intensive and aren’t very difficult to create or install, why aren’t our roads being fitted with these installations and information boards? Where lies the difficulty? Does anybody have the answers? How long until SOMEBODY else takes a decision?

Here I am, whining to anybody who’ll lend a ear about the lack of disabled friendly spaces when most of our roads aren’t even catered to the pedestrian? The next time anybody tells you that we are a secular, democratic country… pause and reflect… Are we, really?

References

1. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/16-deaths-every-hour-Indian-roads-claim-the-maximum-number-of-lives-in-2014/articleshow/48128946.cms
2. http://cpwd.gov.in/Publication/aged&disabled.PDF
3. http://bangalore.citizenmatters.in/articles/hosur-road-bangalore-fatal-accidents-reasons
4. http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/bengaluru/They-Walked-Blindfolded-for-a-Cause/2014/08/25/article2396836.ece
5. http://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/feelings/they-are-not-friends-on-facebook/
6. http://www.guidedogs.com.au/news-and-events/news/20-06-2013/sydneysiders-with-impaired-vision-to-trial-new-braille-street-signs

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Who Pays The Price?

Through the midst of this dusty junction, the blaring horns, people thronging to every side of the road and under the sweltering heat of the sun stands a man selling oranges, apples and pomegranates. He isn’t the only one there as he is accompanied by a fish seller to his left and another fruit seller to his right. On the opposite side of the road are vendors who sell sugarcane juice, flowers, pani puri and small meals.

This is Raja Anna who sells oranges at the corner of the junction. He has 6 daughters and every single one of them goes to school.

These are migrants who have come in from small districts of both Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, trying to make their ends meet through these small businesses. When they’re not worrying about making enough money to break even on a daily basis, they’re worried about the daily bribe they pay the police to have their stall there, apart from the official license which keeps them secure to begin with.

This is the tea stall where I shoot videos and click pictures from of what goes on at the Hosa Road Junction. They ensure that I have my chai and bun as regularly as I want them, throwing in special bites once in a while. They are officially a few of my favourite people!

Raja Anna, Rani Amma, Vijay Anna, Sashi Anna, Shekhar Anna are these vendors who spend close to 6-12 hours on a daily basis in the same concoction of dust, dirt, carbon exhausts and noise everyday. No, it’s not the same as when we walk out to buy something and are exposed to it for as long as we’re standing there. They inhale this toxic concoction on a second to second basis, daily and when I asked about their health, it was surprising to see that they didn’t even look at it as a risk or a health hazard. Health insurance doesn’t come as a byproduct of this job; in fact maintaining their own health is a luxury.

When we travel by automobiles, we are polluting the environment, like we didn’t know that already. Okay, let me put it in another way… I have a car and I have the luxury of shutting out the pollution by rolling up the windows and sitting inside the comfort of an air-conditioned space. These vendors don’t and what makes this situation even worse is you and me who are sitting inside are causing this intolerable situation for these vendors and other pedestrians on the road. May I also urge you to look around at any greenery banking the roads, if any, be it in the medians or near the service lanes? Are they actually green? Do you find a thick layer of brown soot over it? It isn’t just affecting pedestrians and vendors on the road, it’s affecting all of us. Have you noticed how every second person you meet complains of asthma or wheezing which has developed in the recent past? It is an individual problem or is it a raging issue? Are WE the cause of our own fate?

I am recovering from a respiratory illness and to be honest, I couldn’t take more than 4 hours of standing there, in a day which then got reduced to an hour or probably even less. I know what you’re all thinking right now, “So? Tell us something which isn’t happening across the country? What does it got to do with us?”

Delhi is trying to cut down its pollution through the odd-even scheme (remind me NOT to laugh) and you know what, I don’t think it’s making a difference but at least they’re trying. I hear everybody in Bangalore complain about how tiresome it is to drive to work, or how long it takes for a cab or a bus to get them somewhere. A friend and I over the past week decided to walk and we walk 5-7 km to get us places and no, it didn’t kill us. In fact, I feel energised and it gives me a lot of time to listen to music, observe the happenings on the road, look for breathing spaces like lakes and gardens and see what our love for making things more comfortable has led us to. What are we doing to reduce air pollution? Is pedestrianising MG Road, Brigade Road and Commercial Street once or twice a month enough?

Can I reiterate that there are cities across the world like Helsinki, Madrid, Chengdu, Paris, Milan and Copenhagen amongst others which are becoming highly pedestrianised? People walk or cycle and they are healthy! They still get where they want to on time!

shoppers walking along pedestrianised street, chengdu

On the left is the pedestrianised Chengdu street and on the right is Helsinki Mall Street 

Rutul Joshi who is a professor at CEPT, in his piece  http://scroll.in/article/801229/indian-cities-should-discourage-cars-completely-not-jut-restrict-them says, “Automobiles dominate our cities and our minds. “Traffic congestion” is part of everyday lexicon and building of flyovers is widely used to claim development in cities. Like the mythological demon that kept gobbling, the demands for uninterrupted traffic flow, wider roads and more flyovers remain unsatisfied.” His imagery was spot on as he showed us the true reality in urban cities across the country.

I remember how as an Architecture student, my favourite thing to do was drawing site sections of my building with the road, where I would be sure to draw up a footpath and trees and benches. Where did the footpath go, let alone the trees and benches? We have all forgotten to design for the pedestrian in our hurry to create the demonic flyover and widening of the roads to fit more vehicles to ease the traffic.

I’ve been taught as an Architect to come up with solutions as opposed to what I’m taught as a Social Scientist to identify the problem and terminate the problem which could be the solution itself.

Can we put our minds together and do our bit by promising ourselves that we won’t take the car, when we can walk? Can we invest more in cycles and helmets which don’t require any fuel? Can we urge our offices and institutions to encourage car pooling? If we don’t act now, there will soon come a day when we will not be able to walk out of our homes without air masks. Oh, you might laugh now but that day isn’t very far off. Please look below at an image I sourced from The Hindu, dated April 7th, 2015 to see the true state of affairs.

I rest my case. A pedestrianised city is the only way to forward!!

Images courtesy: Anjali Mariam Paul, www.westheimphoto.com and www.snipview.com

 

 

Pedestrian, who?

What would you do if you were in charge of an entire school and were responsible for the students’ safety, especially in the light of being so close to the highway and most importantly, the Hosa Road Junction? That’s exactly what I wanted to find out when I visited 3 schools yesterday to enquire what they were doing to ensure that their children were safe.

Mrs. Meena Hegde who is the acting principal of Sri. A. Thimmiah Reddy Govt. High School, has been working in this particular school since 1990 and she sees the express highway as a boon to her school and students. The school, due to its placement has always been in the centre of noise and air pollution, leading to many students and teachers suffering from respiratory illnesses like wheezing and asthma. She remembers times when they could barely hear their own voices above the traffic on the road.  When asked about road safety, she mentioned that the teachers themselves take precautions by helping students whenever required and still there were 2 major accidents on this road, over the past 15 years where one student ran across the road without warning, got hit by a vehicle and lost a leg in the process. The traffic police visit the school at least 3 times in a year to teach the students about road safety. Mrs. Meena Hegde believes that the only solution to this problem will be the construction of a skywalk or an over pass to ensure children’s safety.

I walked into the Sri Chennakesava High School to be met with the stench of urine as most government schools have and I could barely hear myself think over the students yelling and the traffic outside. I wondered to myself how the teachers must yell themselves hoarse in attempting to get the students to pay attention. When I asked their principal, Mrs. Geetha about it, she seemed so matter of fact about it when she said that the traffic junction is a challenge and yes, the students are at risk. Health problems seem to be a given to these teachers who travel long distances in public transport to get to this school which made me wonder what was more harmful here, the pollution caused by the vehicles or the vehicles themselves. One of the teachers explained how she watches her colleague jump the median on most days in her saree to cross the road because there is no crossing free or available for them. When I asked them for suggestions as to how to go about it, the principal looked to me and asked, “Will it make a difference?” I just sat there, with my mouth gaping open and wondered to myself again whether it actually will… She still went on to explain that if the roads were pedestrianised, there could be a chance of students and teachers alike crossing in peace.

I was lucky to find some parents waiting for their children outside and even luckier that they understood Tamil so Mrs.Ranjeeta and Mrs.Susheela spoke to me at great length about how difficult it becomes for students to safely get home because of the ongoing traffic. They explained how the traffic police help the students cross at times and how they are never present when the school ends, making it more difficult to control the traffic in that area. These parents are housewives who come to pick up their 5 and 8 year olds from school on a daily basis because they believe that if they were coming with other students, it would be difficult for the elder students to watch their every move. Small children tend to get distracted easily and one wrong move could lead to their death. They were also aware that there were traffic police visiting this school to ensure road safety but they still entrust their kids to their own hands.

I visited the Primary School on the opposite side and when I saw those tiny  children, my only thought was… HOW CAN PARENTS ENTRUST THEIR SAFETY IN THE HANDS OF ANYONE ELSE? Being a teacher myself, I wondered how hard it must be to ensure that close to 500 students got home safely on a daily basis. It was hard enough for my and colleagues and I with a bunch of 150 students. One of their teachers, Mrs.Shailaja spoke to me about how the teachers take up the responsibility themselves in helping the students cross and get to their vans, rickshaws safely, all the time mentioning that it was a super challenging task.

These interviews brought me thinking about various things, most importantly how easily we forget about the basics, road signs. Why isn’t there a road sign outside these schools, which indicates that there will be children crossing? Why don’t we have a designated official, wearing a uniform from the school to stop traffic and help children cross the road? Shouldn’t we train students to be part of the Road Safety Patrol where they will do the needful and ensure that no accidents occur in and around their schools?

That being said, there needs to be some structural addition made to these roads where pedestrians, in this case students of all ages can breathe without the fear of being run over by vehicles. We need to start making reforms now, before it is too late.

Parents, teachers, principals and the traffic police should join hands and be proactive in taking these measures instead of waiting for somebody else to do it and burdening themselves with the same task.

Picture courtesy: Anjali Paul, Traffic Wardens and The Hindu

Dancing with Death

“Never follow the crowd… until and unless you’re crossing the road.”

– Sanhita Baruah

Picture Copyrights: Anjali Mariam Paul

As a part of a small research assignment I’m doing for one of my professors in college, I have been spending a few hours at this crazy intersection of nearly 6 lanes of traffic, in Bangalore at different times of the day where there is a concoction of people, vehicles and a lot of pollutants. In this process, I have befriended many interesting people, a few of whom I will shortly introduce you to in the coming posts.

Setting the context

The Hosa Road Junction which is the convergence of 6 lanes of traffic, under one of Bangalore’s important flyovers has seen accidents of both animals and human beings, making the very thought of crossing the road a religious affair, when you call out to all your gods and hope that they take you to the other side in one piece.

The role of a pedestrian

If you can date back to the time before the invention of automobiles and probably the wheel, there used to be a time when everyone walked. Yeah, can you believe it? Agreed that the size of your world was smaller and the furthest you’d probably have to walk was a few metres but still, there existed a time when everything was within walking distance. Now, we seem to have forgotten the pedestrian altogether when we design cities for vehicles, with wide roads and junctions. This would bring me to question why everybody laughed at Louis Kahn’s plan for Pennsylvania when he envisioned the modern city center having to defend itself against the automobile. His plan for a city where people would park their vehicles outside and walk within was a brilliant thought and this ingenious plan might have saved a lot of cities and countries from being poisoned by the carbon exhausts. Furthermore, this could have led to the importance of this little guy who is constantly fighting with motorcycles, cars, buses and trucks to just get to the other side of the road. Do we even consider pedestrian movement when we design cities nowadays?

How do people cross the road?

My childhood memories of crossing the road always go to my mother who taught me that I was the most important person on the road and that in situations when vehicles didn’t stop, I should assert my presence on the road and ensure that they do. That said, I’m pretty sure my mother would die a 1000 deaths before attempting to cross this brilliant junction, which is like a dance with death and yet, people still do it.

During my countless hours of observing this particular junction, I watched kids who would come in pairs or as individuals from different sides, totally absorbed in their own little conversations but when it came to crossing the road, would huddle together as some unsaid form of solidarity and cross together. It amazed me that these kids would then go their own separate ways after they succeeded in crossing. I also noticed that children don’t seem to be scared of crossing the road as most of the adults I’ve seen who either cling on to other pedestrians, again whom they have never met before. It’s like some common sense which they’ve acquired in a very short duration, some unsaid code which enables them to cross without fear. After speaking to a few students, I realised that this is their normal routine and as they’ve been doing it for so many years, it doesn’t scare them or even appear to be a problem anymore.

Women crossing the road is something which needs to be studied in more detail and caution as most of them seem anxious and perplexed while doing this dance. They hold onto other people who are crossing the road and silently pray as they get across. I mention caution because they seen very unsure about their movements, they are the true dancers as they move forward, then backward, then slightly to the right and then left and sometimes, just don’t cross. That being said, I have also seen daredevils who are on the phone and darting across the road. (Remember I used the word ‘CAUTION’?)

This might be the case for men as well, but from my observations, men seem to have their perplexity under control as they cross the road with more ease. I presume that their need to show that they’re in control of their emotions keeps them from losing it while doing something as SIMPLE as crossing the road.

Is it strange that old people don’t appear on these roads at all? I don’t blame them for staying away because their agility and quick thinking will be called in question here. My relatives who stay close to the junction would rather take their car to cross this junction than have to walk and they refuse to let their 8 year old son go anywhere close to this junction, by walk or by cycle, by himself or with friends.

What blew my mind was a blind man crossing the road with nothing but the help of a cane. There is traffic coming at him from 3 sides altogether and his loss of sight being replaced by his innate sensitivity to sound and movement helps him block out the scary visuals, organise the sounds into different categories which are closer to him and those that aren’t and helps him cross the road. I nearly stood up and gave him a standing ovation for his brilliant and successful dance with death.

Another observation that I made about animals is that they have accustomed themselves to this crazy junction and are rarely seen crossing during the peak hours. They wait it out, do their thing with their crew on one side of the road until they can waltz their way to the crew waiting for them on the other side.

Why do people need to dance with death?

Imagine a junction with 6 lanes of traffic and the so called zebra crossing being made invisible by the vehicles who are ALWAYS in a hurry to get somewhere, so have decided to cover it entirely. Now, imagine the traffic policemen who are attempting to manage 6 lanes and the pedestrians crossing at the same time.

When the urban planners design roads and service lanes, without paying heed to how pedestrians move, it leads to people dancing with death on a daily basis.

Children, teens, students, working professionals and all pedestrians alike will continue to do this dance until they get familiar with the moves and finally get comfortable with this dance, because to wait for the roads to make place for them and their safety would be a long, painful and disappointing one.