Ten-inch footpath on Sardar Patel Road in Chennai irks pedestrians
CHENNAI: For many years now, the pedestrian footpath near the Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI) on Sardar Patel road, has been making a mockery of pedestrians. Merely around 10 inches wide, the footpath on one of the busiest roads in the city, has left pedestrians clinging to the wall adjacent to it like lizards while attempting to walk on it.
"There are always vehicles coming from behind so you have to be doubly careful. If we are to walk on it, we have to hold onto the wall," said Srividya K, a student.
At best, the platform that is below the Sardar Patel road flyover, is a space that one can stand on briefly, to make way for speeding vehicles. However, this too has its dangers. Realising that it is impossible to continue walking on the footpath, pedestrians often get onto the roads instead, taking motorists coming from behind them, by surprise.
"The total width of the footpath should vary from at least 3.3 meters (roughly 10.8 feet) to 6.5 meters (21.3 feet) in a commercial zone, according to the Indian Roads Congress," said Aswathy Dilip, senior programme manager at the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP).
This would mean that this particular stretch, with a width of barely one foot, falls short by around nine feet.
"If it had been any other road, it may not be this difficult but this is a very crowded stretch and so it's definitely merits a safe stretch for pedestrian traffic," said Sadasivan P, who takes the bus to Tharamani from the CLRI bus stop.
The footpath has been this way for many years now, he added.
Similarly, after the arterial Velachery main road opposite to Phoenix Marketcity was cut for undertaking storm water drain works, the footpath has now disappeared.
"Earlier also the footpath was not great but there was something to walk on. Now after the road was dug up and closed back up again, they have not relaid the footpath," said Kathir P, a resident of Velachery.
When contacted, a corporation official of the Bus Route Road (BRR) department said that he will look into the issue.
