Mumbai: What is this blind fixing of guardrails, ask activists

After assessing the poor installation of footpath railings in the city midday in the concluding part of the series talked to town planners and activists about where the civic body went wrong and what could be done to ensure the guardrails make pavements accessible to pedestrians Experts pointed out how no planning before installing the railings has led to the railings being a hindrance rather than a help A majority were also of the opinion that there was no need for railings everywhere in the cityMost of the areas in the western and eastern suburbs have footpath railings but that was not the case with south Mumbai When the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporationrsquos roads department had proposed to install iron railings in the Fort area in 2019 the heritage committee opposed it The panel had said that these railings ldquodo not fit with the heritage ambiencerdquoGopal Jhaveri Mumbai MarchTown planners and activists however said that the railings do not match the ambience in eastern and western suburbs too They also pointed at the lack of uniformity of the barriers and cited that while some places have railings others have bollards The activists also said how the railings are different in different areasLack of planningDhawal Ashar a transportation planner and engineer and head of integrated transport and road safety at World Resources Institute India WRI India told midday that the railings which were intended to protect pedestrians have failed to fulfil the purpose ldquoThey railings either deter pedestrians from accessing the footpath and in many cases it can be more dangerous especially at night Future streets of Mumbai have to address three risksmdashsafety and accessibility flood and heat Mumbai streets need to be designed to address these risks and the railing sadly addresses neither of these If anything they are aggravating the first issue of safety and accessibilityrdquo Ashar saidAs the railings have left no entryexit point pedestrians take to walking on the road in Byculla PicShadab KhanGopal Jhaveri from Mumbai March slammed the BMC for not planning the railings based on the condition of the road He said that this oversight lead to mistakes as well as footpath deadends ldquoOfficials are installing it anywhere and everywhere without considering the width of the footpath Mumbai does not have uniformsized footpaths hence if you install railings on narrow footpaths it will lead to congestion and unsafe corridorsrdquo he saidAlso Read Mumbai Hawkers take over footpath guardrails meant for citizensNo aestheticsJhaveri told midday ldquoOne of the technical issues with the railings is that these are very lightweight There seems to be no coordination between the ones approved and the ones installed But the question is how can the BMC approve such lightweight railings Miscreants can easily break or cut these I also feel that these may not survive Mumbairsquos heavy monsoon if not installed properly as these are hollowrdquoA broken footpath railing on Brahma Vishnu Mahesh Marg in Shimpoli PicSameer MarkandeldquoThe old cast iron railings installed during the preBritish period in south Mumbai were solid and of good quality and they were also in sync with the heritage ambience of the areardquo Jhaveri said adding ldquoThere is no sense of aesthetics now For example near Gowalia tank in south Mumbai people hang their clothes on the railing There is no synchronisation between the design of the railing and the ambience of the areardquoNot needed everywhereEnvironmental activist Zoru Bhatena said ldquoA moneyspending business is what it is Why else would railings be needed on every footpath Not all areas have the same problem Some places might be crowded due to continuous pedestrian influx some areas would have more heavy vehicles But a majority of the places face encroachments either in the form of establishments parking of vehicles or hawkersRailings installed near Hub Mall in Goregaon East PicSameer MarkandeWhile station areas do need railings as people in large numbers come out at the same time that is not the case with other areas For instance one will not see railings or bollards everywhere in south Mumbairdquo He added ldquoI feel there are places that do not require railings but the presence of the same is forcing people to come out and walk on the roadrdquoNeed wider footpaths firstSulakshana Mahajan architect and urban planner told midday ldquoThe congestion encroachment of footpaths and the difficulty that pedestrians have to facemdashall of these point to a total failure of the planning authority Railings were installed to protect pedestrians from speeding vehicles and keep hawkers off sidewalks among other reasons Since footpaths are now much more crowded and hawkers have taken over stretches people choose to walk on the road Take the road outside CSMT station as an example There are at least 1015 times more people walking on the road as compared to vehicles The planning authorities and public representatives should construct convenient and easy access pedestrian pathways instead of solely thinking of flyovers and skywalksrdquoDhawal Ashar transportation planner and engineer and head of integrated transport and road safety at WRI IndialdquoInstalling railings haphazardly is not the answer to these issues Putting some restrictions in place and doing systematic planning can help The cityrsquos footpaths ought to be wider and uniform throughout While Mumbai cannot ban hawkers which is both impractical and incorrect the BMC must act quickly to remove encroachments from footpaths The civic body needs to work toward the systematic relocation and rehabilitation of hawkers in appropriate locations The authorities can also limit the number of cars and private vehicles and promote increased use of public transportation I suggest prohibiting private vehicles within 300 metres of railway stations to decongest these areasrdquoBMCrsquos footpath railing policyThe civic body came out with lsquoPedestrian First Footpath Guidelinesrsquo on June 30 2014 which stated that railings needed to be installed along footpaths to avoid potential vehicle conflictSulakshana Mahajan architect and urban plannerThe guidelines read ldquoThe footpaths need to be distinctly segregated from the roads where fastmoving vehicles plyrdquo While the railings were installed to keep pedestrians safe the haphazard installation has made footpaths inaccessible at many placesIn addition the railings which were meant to deter hawkers are now being used as hangers to display hawkersrsquo wares thus increasing congestion on footpathsWhat can be donegtgt Easy access pedestrian pathwaysgtgt Wider and uniform footpathsgtgt Quick action against encroachmentgtgt Limiting vehicular access to railway stationsgtgt Putting curbs on parking near busy roads and junctionsgtgt Promotion of public transportAs suggested by architect and urban planner Sulakshana Mahajan