THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The 104-metre-long ‘Skywalk’, the foot-over bridge set up by the City Corporation to ensure safe pedestrian crossing at East Fort, fails to serve its purpose. It’s been over a year since the Skywalk was inaugurated in a trumpeted manner by PWD Minister P A Mohamed Riyas. However, the foot-over bridge, the longest in the capital, has failed to woo pedestrians.
Constructed at a cost of Rs 4 crore, Skywalk has turned into an advertisement space rather than a safe passage for pedestrians. “The foot overbridge is unscientifically planned, and it serves little or no purpose at East Fort. About 70 per cent of the people coming to East Fort are elderly and will not use the skywalk to cross. A person who wants to go to Chalai Market will not use the facility.
The authorities should come up with a mobility plan for the capital to decongest East Fort,” said Anil Kumar Pandala, a road safety expert and the former managing director of Trivandrum Road Development Corporation Limited. Anil also said the structure is illegal as East Fort is a heritage zone. “The structure stands as an eyesore in a heritage zone, and it’s of no use other than putting up advertisements. The authorities should have never gone for an elevated structure here,” he added.
As per data, around 40 people lost their lives, and 140 were severely injured in various road accidents on the MG Road-East Fort stretch between 2016 and 2018. An official of the traffic wing said that people are hesitant to use the skywalk. “We need to put up handrails to restrict pedestrians from using the road and guide them to the skywalk. Otherwise, people will continue to cross the road. We have informed the authorities about this,” said a senior official of the traffic wing.
According to officials of the City Corporation, it is not feasible to install handrails in the median to prevent pedestrian crossing as it will affect vehicle movement. “The only way is to manage the pedestrians manually, and we have instructed the traffic police to take this up. Building awareness is another way to encourage the public to use the skywalk,” said a senior official of the City Corporation.
Fort Ward councillor Janaki Ammal said that senior citizens hesitate to climb the stairs to cross the road. “It’s not convenient as the public has to walk more to reach their destination. Some youngsters use the footbridge to click selfies. They should have studied better before investing so much in such infrastructure. They should also have got feedback from the public,” she added.