KOCHI: It’s a jungle out there, and Kochi can’t seem to change its stripes!
Take, for instance, the zebra crossings on key roads in the city. The positioning of many of the markings leaves much to be desired: away from intersections with large pedestrian footfall, in front of amenities like bus stops that end up slowing the flow of traffic and placing foot-travellers at risk, and sometimes at locations with no opening to footpaths. Some of the crossings even have utility poles and transformers straddling them.
Highlighting the issue of haphazard zebra crossings, residents are calling for their more informed placement.
Pointing to a marking in Thoppumpady, local resident and historian Mansoor Naina said it is positioned next to the bus station that serves vehicles heading to Ernakulam.
“This poorly planned arrangement has become a threat to the life of pedestrians. Those using the zebra crossing find themselves directly in front of buses waiting at the stop. This blocks the view of other motorists, who place the lives of pedestrians at grave risk,” he said. This is a sure-shot recipe for fatal accidents, Mansoor told the TNIE.
According to him, hundreds of people cross the road here daily.
“Everyone from young children rushing across after alighting a bus to adults are placed in peril. I felt compelled to raise the matter after witnessing a girl student narrowly escape being run over by a vehicle recently,” said Mansoor.
“Instead of waiting for a tragedy to happen, authorities must urgently install a traffic signal or deploy traffic police to ensure public safety. Commuters should exercise extreme caution when crossing the road here,” he said.
This is no isolated case. According to C L Ebenezer, lawyer and public activist, Pallimukku Junction is probably an excellent case study for unscientific zebra crossings.
“A crosswalk here is positioned around 15 metres behind the traffic signal. Because of traffic build-up, approaching motorists suddenly find themselves cutting the zebra crossing when the signal turns red. There is also no signal timer, making it difficult for drivers to judge whether they can clear the junction. More importantly, the crossing towards Ravipuram does not connect to the footpath. Pedestrians end up finding a transformer blocking their path,” he said.
According to him, police have been issuing fines to vehicles that stop on zebra lines, ironically creating the situation where the road design itself contributes to the violation. He pointed to another case. “Look at the zebra crossing near Changampuzha Park. It is located on a curved section of the road, with a bus stop essentially at the same location. Consequently, motorists fail to spot the crossing until they are very close to it, while buses may stop directly on the crossing. So the problem here is multiple: visibility, bus stop and pedestrian crossing location,” said Ebenezer.
“The zebra crossing at Lisie Junction has no opening to the footpath. Motorists complain that pedestrians could appear out of nowhere because the crossing is not visible to approaching drivers,” he said.
Walkers end up wriggling past vehicles that inadvertently encroach the crossing with their fingers crossed. “A vehicle can roll back or move forward, trapping a pedestrian,” Ebenezer said.
Then there is the issue of lack of timers at many of the busy crossroads.
“At Edappally Lulu junction – one of the busiest pedestrian-crossing intersections in the city, with a daily footfall of around one lakh pedestrians, the lack of a timer poses a big problem,” he said.