BENGALURU: It’s just not roads. Bengaluru’s pavements too are crowded -- not with people but with parked two-wheelers, billboards, hawkers selling their wares laid out on tables and even ornamental plants grown in front of houses —making them anything but safe for pedestrians.In many places, pavements with gaps and slabs missing pose a danger while in a few other places, pavements are missing. Where there are broader pavements, they have been turned into market spaces for vendors.
For instance, along stretches of Mysore Road, which sees heavy traffic, pavements are no more than a feet side forcing pedestrians to walk on the road risking life and limb. In places like Basaveshwara Nagar, Vyalikaval and Magadi Road, where development works are under way, people have no choice but to walk on main roads.The newly-added areas don’t have proper pavements. Sonali Singh, a resident of Bellandur, said, “In places where there are pavements, it is used by vendors. Otherwise, in most of Bellandur, there are no pavement at all.”
In some places, the pavements have not been fixed after completion of development works and residents find it tough to walk. Rajendra Opre, a resident of Vinayakanagar, said the pavement slabs in the area were removed to clean drains following rains, but have not been replaced.He added that on 8th Main Road, Vinayaknagar, B Block, cabs are parked on the stretches that are used by morning walkers, making it tough for them to move about.
Pavements also double up as parking spaces. The cross roads around Dinnur Main Road in R T Nagar turn into parking spaces for four-wheelers post evening, blocking the way for other motorists. Similar problems exist in parts of Yelahanka New Town where two-wheelers are are parked along the main road.
Encroachment of pavements, both by residential complexes and commercial establishments, is another concern. Residents use pavements for cultivating gardens, while commercial establishments use them to dump extra stocks or turn them into parking lot for customers.
Walk through HSR Layout and one seems to have no place to step on the pavements, thanks to eateries in Sector 3 and Sector 6, complained Zahid H Javali, a resident.Similar problems persist in areas that house markets. Localities like Jayanagar, Malleswaram and Yeshwanthpur see vendors occupying pavements. On Malleswaram 17th Cross, a few residents have also used the pavement to create a garden in front of the house. Pots and plants line the pavement leaving hardly any space for pedestrians. In parts of KR Market and Ejipura, garbage is dumped on the pavements and parts of Majestic and Okalipuram reek of urine.
The many concerns
Missing slabs on pavements
Uncovered drains
Wobbling slabs
Pavements turned into illegal parking spaces
Plants and pots stacked
Billboards, tables put out by vendors
Uneven pavements
Missing footpaths
Garbage dumping