Space on Dhaka walkways shrinks as shops, trees or construction encroach them

A tree occupies a part of it; and at places it is the electricity pole or the telephone switch box. Some parts of the footpaths in the city have footbridge poles or stairs. Even there are police boxes on parts of the footpaths. Vehicles are parked on the walkways in front of shops and then, there are hawkers with their makeshift shops.

Most of the city footpaths have flaw in their designs, said the relevant people. So, pedestrians cannot walk on those parts of them that are still unoccupied. The rate of road mishaps would have come down if the footpaths were pedestrian-friendly, they say.

There are 292 kilometres of pavement in south Dhaka roads and 223 kilometres in north Dhaka streets. Most of the pavements leaving those small parts in the upscale neighbourhoods are in same miserable state.

Pole and stairs of a footbridge on the footpath in front of the Government Titumir College in Mohakhali gobble up almost the entire pavement. Only a lone pedestrian can walk through the empty space, which is also filled with faeces and urine of floating people.  It means pedestrians shun it.

Parts of the footpaths stretching from Amtali in Mohakhali to Gulshan are potholed and occupied with stuffs from the shops around.

The narrow footpath from Setu Bhaban to Amtali signal makes it impossible for two pedestrians to walk side by side.

The shops selling Thai aluminium do their work on the footpath from Mohakhali rail crossing to Kakoli. Some of the motorcycle workshops keep their motorcycles on the footpath as well.

There is no footpath on the southern side of the Gulistan Park. The road is potholed and in a shambles, bus ticket counters on it.

The Dhaka South City Corporation has built a new footpath near the Sergeant Ahad Police Box. Almost the entire footpath has been occupied with passenger sheds and ticket counters.

At least 43 percent of those who lose their lives to road accidents are pedestrians, according to the statistics of the Accident Research Institute of BUET.

The authorities do not consider walkways as a means of communication and so, they never care about them, said Maruf Rahman, programme manager of Work for a Better Bangladesh-WBB.

“Everything will change if the pedestrians are prioritised. There are policies that talk about implementing many things for the pedestrians but those are never done. There is no project or any continuous work.”

The authorities are spending more than Tk 10 million on projects to improve communication system but only Tk 5 million is enough to ensure safe footpaths for pedestrians, said Maruf.

“Our footpaths are never pedestrian-friendly, rather they create problems for them. The pedestrians are always ignored.”

A large number of people who died in accidents were walking on the roads, said Shifun Newaz, an assistant professor at BUET. They walk on the streets due to the absence of proper footpaths. The number of road accidents would have reduced if the footpaths were pedestrian-friendly, he said.

“We have told the authorities time and again to put railing on the footpaths so that the pedestrians cannot veer off to the streets. We have seen it in one or two places in the city but most of the major roads lack it.”

The footpaths in Dhaka are now more pedestrian friendly than ever before, claimed Dhaka South City Corporation Mayor Mohammed Sayeed Khokon.

“We have removed the hawkers from the footpaths in Gulistan, Motijheel, New Market and other parts of the city. We tried to make the pavements hundred percent free from grabbers. But the other problems have been there for a long time,” he told bdnews24 on Monday.

They have not decided yet where to move the electricity and telephone poles, and police boxes from the sidewalks, said the mayor.

“We have found no place to move them. We’re planning to shift the police boxes from the footpaths to the road dividers. The bus ticket counters should be placed next to the passenger sheds. We have no alternatives and must manage things within our means. There is no doubt that the pedestrians are facing difficulties to move freely.”

NILKHET-MANIK MIA AVENUE: OBSTRUCTION AT EACH STEP

A walk on any of the Dhaka sidewalks is enough to have a vivid picture. The bdnews24.com reporter experienced huge mismanagement while walking from Nilkhet intersection to Manik Miah Avenue through Mirpur Road.

A large number of motorcycles were seen parked on the pavement from Nilkhet intersection to New Market. Hawkers gather their stuff on the sidewalk from New Market Gate 2 to the footbridge in the area. The only parts of the pavements that have no vendors are actually broken and potholed.

“Why would I walk on the road and face risk if I can walk on the sidewalk? Our footpaths are not meant for pedestrians. Parts of these are grabbed and the rest are not in any condition to walk,” said Yusuf Ali, who works in the National Academy of Education Management.

The reporter spoke to university student Tanzil Ahmed Himel on road no. 5 at Dhanmondi . Tanzil said he felt like walking from Kolabagan to the City College due to the severe traffic congestion every time but it never became possible because of the condition of the sidewalks, said Tanzil.

Footbridge stairs occupy parts of the footpath in front of Metro Shopping Mall with a police box next to the place. Though there is nothing on the sidewalk from Russell Square to Dhanmondi road no. 27, it is so high that one has to jump to get on it in the ends of the streets into Dhanmondi.

“In fact those in charge of these footpaths never need to walk like us. Therefore, they never realise our plight. They say many good words for the people with disabilities. Do they ever think of it that how the people with disabilities will walk on this footpath?” a pedestrian asked.

NILKHET-MANIK MIAH AVENUE: HURDLE AT EACH STEP

A walk on any of the Dhaka promenades should give one a vivid picture of disarray. The bdnews24.com reporter found sheer mismanagement while walking from Nilkhet intersection to Manik Miah Avenue through Mirpur Road.

A large number of motorcycles are parked on the pavement from Nilkhet intersection to New Market. Hawkers gather their stuff on the sidewalk from New Market Gate 2 to the footbridge in the area. Parts of the pavements have no vendors because they are broken and potholed.

“Why would I walk on the road and take risks if I can walk on the sidewalk? Our footpaths are not meant for pedestrians. Parts of these are grabbed and the rest is not in any condition for commuters to walk on ” said Yusuf Ali, who works in the National Academy of Education Management.

The reporter spoke to university student Tanzil Ahmed Himel on road no. 5 at Dhanmondi . Tanzil said he felt like walking from Kolabagan to the City College due to the severe traffic congestion every time but could not bring himself to do it because of the condition of the walkways, said Tanzil.

Footbridge stairs occupy parts of the footpath in front of Metro Shopping Mall with a police box next to it. Though there is nothing on the pavement from Russell Square to Dhanmondi road no. 27, it is so high that one has to jump to get on it at the ends of the streets into Dhanmondi.

“In fact those in charge of these footpaths never need to walk like us. Therefore, they never realise our plight. They say many good things for the people with disabilities. Do they ever think how the people with disabilities will walk on this footpath?” a pedestrian asked.