Chennai's lost, neglected pavements

City compares poorly with others in investing on non-motorised transport infrastructure

- R. Sivaraman

A sad lack of respect for pavements gives grief to pedestrians in Chennai. Well laid pavements with bollards are quickly vandalised, making them convenient for vehicular parking and for two-wheelers to whiz past. As a result, pedestrians are forced to walk on the roads, endangering life and limb.

Pavements with paver blocks and granite stones were laid on the Rajiv Gandhi Salai for pedestrians a few years ago. Today, the pavement, supposedly dedicated for pedestrians to walk safe, has become a regular route for motorists to drive in reckless manner, rendering its original purpose invalid.

“There are no clear pavements here for pedestrians. Everywhere, footpaths have been damaged due to vehicles and other encroachments. A part of the service road was used by people to walk. Even on that, we now have lots of encroachments in the form of Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) cables and autorickshaw parking. It is a maze. Pedestrians have to negotiate all these hurdles to reach their destination,” said Harsha Koda, co-ordinator, Federation of OMR (Old Mahabalipuram Road) Residents Welfare Associations.

Velachery worst-hit

The situation is much worse on 100 Feet Road in Velachery, which is one of the densely populated areas in the city. S. Kumararaja, the Velachery Annai Indira Nagar Residents’ Welfare Association said, “During peak hours, motorists are least bothered about pedestrians as they run their vehicles on the pavement, without giving space for pedestrians to use the area demarcated for them.”