Mumbai's missing footsteps: City hobbled by footpath woes

In Mumbai, a silent crisis is brewing beneath the frenetic pace of life--the sorry state of the city's footpaths. Apathy from civic officials coupled with rampant encroachments and dumping of debris has left pedestrians grappling with inaccessible walkways.

Time and again, issues of pedestrians' safety are raised, especially in the face of major incidents like Worli's jogger's death after she was run over by a driver who was driving rashly and reportedly was still under the influence of alcohol.

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While the public has largely submitted to the apathy and made peace with it, some communities and advocacy groups persist in their efforts to make the civic agency--in this case, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation--know that there's a vacuum in policy-making and its implementation.

Footpath in Mumbai's SV Road area broken/ Walking Project

Accessibility of the footpaths

Speaking to mid-day, Rishi Aggarwal, citizen activist and founder of Walking Project, said that the sorry state of footpath or pedestrian-friendly infrastructure is not an issue in itself, it rather is a symptom.

Aggarwal pointed out that the issue beneath the surface is that the civic agency and also Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) view development with a vehicle-centric lens. He says the persons who bear the brunt are commoners, especially those who cannot afford to pay for bus tickets or rickshaw fares and have to walk.

"If one consumes a food product which upsets their stomach, the aching of the stomach is an indicator of something being wrong. Similarly, the lack of pedestrian-friendly infrastructure is an indicator that something is wrong. The problem is BMC and MMRDA have adopted a car-centric approach of development, especially in the last decade," he said.

Meanwhile, Advocate and social activist Godfrey Pimenta, pointed out that the encroachment issue has spiralled out of hand. He, in conversation with mid-day, stated that the hawkers now in some stretches like on Andheri-Kurla Road have even started encroaching upon the roads.

"So many hawkers have encroached upon footpaths in so many areas across Mumbai. While most streets in South Mumbai are spick and span, the same is not the case with the suburbs. Many hawkers, selling food items, use gas cylinders in the open (which is dangerous). This could lead to a repeat of the 2015 Hotel City Kinara incident," he said.

Governance is an issue, say activists

He further noted that the hawkers cannot be entirely held responsible for the issue which has been caused majorly because of governance.

When asked about the participation of the group in raising the issues with the civic agency and the response they receive, Aggarwal noted that the agencies concerned are working in pilot mode while Pimenta echoed similar thoughts saying after raising issues, the civic agency ensures token work is carried out and goes back to being indifferent.

Elucidating on his comment, Aggarwal said, "Walking Project, since its inception in 2012 had been regularly involved in raising issues. For five years we gave fantastic inputs to BMC and MMRDA however being burnt out (personally), the pace slowed and we were able to revive. As a pedestrian advocacy group, we have been protesting, giving inputs, complaining making noise, and bringing the guidelines by the Indian Road Congress which should be implemented. It's essentially a question of implementation but the focus is car-centric but millions are suffering, especially in denser areas like railway stations."

Encroachment by hawkers near Andheri-Kurla Road/ Godfrey Pimenta

He further noted that although the infrastructure is better in some places where metro stations have come up, it's only a pilot for the metro to showcase work that is being done and added that there is a need to shake out of it since millions are suffering.

Upon being asked what part of this issue of footpaths being inaccessible is fuelled by urban planning, he said, "This is a massive governance failure. The agencies' existing roads department, don't think of pedestrians or cyclists. They are not trained to do so."

When asked whether the absence of corporators is also affecting the communication channel, pimenta noted that with corporators around, the BMC officials were held accountable but with them not being around, "jungle raj" is prevailing.

Bollards: A point of contention

Pimenta also pointed out that the bollards placed on the footpaths across the city do not align with what the universal footpath policy prescribes.

For the unversed, universal guidelines state that the footpaths, on major roads, must be wide enough to accommodate two wheelchair users at the same time with tactile paving guiding visually impaired users and ramps replacing every curbstone.

The city-based organisation Access to Hope had formulated a policy as such with the civic agency, however, the core team--Jasmina Khanna & Sanket Khadilkar--stated that work on the same is yet to be undertaken.

A copy of the policy dated May 2023 and note undersigned by BMC assistant commissioner (Roads and Traffic) Manishkumar Patel acknowledging and lauding the organisation was accessed by mid-day.com.

Khadilkar, during an earlier conversation with the correspondent, had pointed out that in several areas there is no indication of the footpath merging into the road.

Apart from having helped the civic agency in formulating the Universal footpath policy, they also provided a solution for bollard placement on footpaths which allows wheelchair users to pass through but restricts entry of two-wheelers. The organisation said that they have been time and again providing the BMC with inputs but in vain.

What happened to the progress on Pedestrian First policy?

With the "Pedestrian First" policy, Mumbai took an important step towards becoming a pedestrian-friendly city in 2016. This ambitious programme strived to recover footpaths for pedestrians, with their safety and comfort as top priorities. It involved extending walkways, clearing encroachments, enforcing stricter parking laws, and instilling in motorists a culture of respect for pedestrians.

As of 2023, the BMC had surveyed the roads across the city to identify spaces with a minimum width of 9 meters where new footpaths will be constructed. Pilot projects were undertaken like GMLR junction renovation etc however space limits, encroachment and long-term funding pose challenges.

Is there a scope for improvement?

When asked if there is a scope for improvement, Pimenta noted that there always is a scope for bettering things and for that, he suggested that BMC take a proactive role, conduct monthly meetings with organisations, note the grievances, and take action on the same.

Aggarwal said that the civic agency should focus on building non-motorised transport cells that will give them inputs from a pedestrian's point of view. It will help them during the planning stage of important projects like road concretisation projects. "Instead of complaining later on, they should get inputs on how to keep roads pedestrian-friendly at the inception, it will solve many issues," he noted.

Despite multiple tries, messages and calls to BMC officials remained unanswered till the time of the publication of the story.