Bhubaneswar: The Supreme Court remark that ‘the right to walk is a fundamental right’ has prompted city planners to caution the works department and city agencies against faulty and hurried road designs that fail to deliver maintainable, all-season, dedicated pedestrian paths along roads.The plan for a daily warning drive to remove encroachments also failed, with Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC)’s proposed commissioning of a specialised ‘bell vehicle’ never taking off. The vehicle, fitted with a large bell like a fire engine’s, was meant to raise an alarm during surveillance on routes where encroachments were reported.Urban planner Piyush Rout said the city authorities carved out pedestrian paths by slightly elevating them with wide slabs over drains. He called it a good idea. Alongside, a portion of the motorable road was demarcated (in green) for pedestrians. “So, there was a mix of both elevated and ground paths for walkers. This led to serious inconvenience. Now, city authorities will have to seriously think about and plan a seamless walker path along roads, where it is feasible. Every road may not be suitable,” Rout said.Senior urban planner Sanjib Guru said the slightly elevated pedestrian corridor was a total failure. “The elevated walker lane from Jayadev Vihar to KIIT Square has been rendered unsuitable as more than walkers, motorists occupy the lane. To check motorists from using the walkers’ lane, the authorities should put up low-height barriers on either side and construct speed breakers on the paths,” he said.Planners also said there is a need to develop walker paths with proper signage and demarcation. “Very few people know that there are pedestrian paths and they should be free from parking. Let alone parking, speed bikers run their bikes on the walkway as if they are taking part in a race,” Guru said.
