Pedestrians in peril: At Pune-Ahmednagar Road and Pimpri Chowk, chaos rules and crossing roads is mission impossible

“It is scary while crossing the road. People don’t stop at zebra crossing and you never know when you will be knocked down by an errant rider. So, as far as possible we give a voice call to the traffic policeman when he is available and seek his help in crossing the road,” said Athawale.

Missing signals, violation of rules

The situation is no different as one leaves behind Wellesley Road and enters Pune-Ahmednagar Road, with all major squares being devoid of pedestrian signals and faded or non-existent Zebra Crossings. Pedestrians are left to fend for themselves and cross the road at their own risk.

Pratiksha Jadhav, 51, said, “A week ago I was hit by a two-wheeler while crossing the Chowk. Although I didn’t receive any serious injuries since that day I am feeling extra-anxious while crossing the signal.”

This square, where Ambedkar Road – going towards Yerawada – and West Avenue – connecting to Kalyani Nagar – meet is one of the biggest squares in this stretch. The Indian Express found that the pedestrian signals, although installed, have fallen in disrepair. Of the four sides of the Chowk, zebra crossing, although faded, could be seen only on one side.

Even as a board instructs pedestrians to use Zebra Crossing, vehicle leave no room for them to use it. The image from Viman Nagar Chowk on Pune-Ahmednagar Road. (Express Photo by Atikh Rashid)

Traffic Policeman Nitin More who was managing the traffic at the square gave a long list of infrastructural issues at the square that made his job difficult including the Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) lane infrastructure that still exists on the road even though its exclusivity of use for public buses has been ended.

“It’s true that pedestrians face a difficult time. We can’t provide dedicated time for pedestrians on the main signals because even if it’s done, motorists don’t follow it as there’s anyway heavy traffic on this road,” said More.

At Wadgaon Sheri and Phoenix squares, the two other major intersections on Nagar Road, motorists blatantly violate the rule to stop ahead of the Zebra Crossing (where it existed) and pedestrians have to make their way through a maze of vehicles hoping that the signal doesn’t turn green before they reach the other end.

Pune Nagar Road. (Photo by Shubham Tigga)

It’s a completely chaotic situation that exists every day.

Nadiya Mushtaque, a foreign student studying at a city college, said that in the absence of pedestrian signals, she keeps an eye on the traffic lights while crossing the road. “But I have noticed that often motorists continue to cross even after the signal has turned red and even before the signal has turned green. This I find disconcerting,” she said.

The Indian Road Congress guidelines mandate that pedestrians are provided with facilities like roads with dividers and signalled intersections. A mid-block crossing every 80-150 metres, where people can wait safely after crossing half the road and before crossing the other half is vital while sufficient time in the signal cycle should be allotted to cross the road.

Harshad Abhyankar of Save Pune Traffic Movement said Pune-Nagar Road is very wide. Abhyankar pointed out that in the absence of well-designed pedestrian refuges, one needs to cross 30 metres in one go. “If the time required to cross such a wide road is calculated by the Indian Road Congress formula that works out at 32 seconds for pedestrians. The traffic police are simply unwilling to provide since it would clog the vehicular traffic,” he said.

However, if it is difficult to stop all vehicles for 32 seconds, Nagar Road with BRT infrastructure provides an opportunity. Here, pedestrian refuse can be built between BRT and mixed traffic lanes, and signal phases can be staggered so that pedestrians and vehicular movement are interlaced, to ensure safety while crossing the road.

At Pimpri Chowk, it’s free for all

Shilpa Kamchike is wary of going to the bustling Pimpri Bazaar as crossing the road is always a nightmare. Kamchike had visited the Pimpri market on Dussehra with her young daughter and had a tough time trying to cross the bridge over Pimpri Railway Station to board an autorickshaw. “The drivers are blind to pedestrians. They do not slow down even if they see a pedestrian trying to cross,” she said.

As she darted between the bikes and auto-rickshaws, Kamchike said the bridge’s pedestrian crossings were either half broken or stopped mid-way. With no zebra crossings or pedestrian ways, it is a run for their lives for pedestrians on the bridge.

The flyover connecting Pimpri Chowk to the Pimpri Market is one of the busiest flyovers or roads in the area. This flyover has traffic from Pimpri Chowk and Finolex Chowk which merge as one and move towards Pimpri Market. The wholesale market of Pimpri as well as the Pimpri Railway Station is below the flyover which is used by both pedestrians and vehicles on their way to and from Pimpri Market.

Pedestrians have a tough time crossing the bridge connecting Pimpri Chowk to Pimpri Market (Express Photo by Partha Sarathi Biswas)

For vehicular traffic, this flyover is a boon, but for pedestrians, it is a nightmare.

As Kamchike said, crossing from one side to the other is almost impossible. The flyover has small pedestrian crossings but they are not wide enough to accommodate more than one person at a time. Also, the flyover exists halfway- it stops at the bend of the flyover leaving pedestrians at their own risk.

Aditya Gaikwad, a student, crosses the bridge every day to reach the Pimpri Chowk. “There are traffic constables but they are more engaged in controlling the traffic than helping pedestrians. Senior citizens have a hard time trying to cross,” he said.

The Nehrunagar Chowk is an important crossing in and around the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC). At the intersection of the New Telco Road and Nehru Nagar Bhosari Road, this chowk has traffic from all four roads. While there are zebra crossings and traffic signals majority of the time vehicular traffic fails to adhere to them

For pedestrians, the Nehru Nagar Chowk like other parts of the city is a nightmare to cross. If one comes from the Bhosari side, there are two stretches to cross while going towards DY Patil Hospital and Medical College.

Suman Pal had narrowly missed being hit by a bike while crossing the road.

“Most of the footpaths don’t exist and during the peak hour of traffic, it is really difficult to cross. There are some bikers who never stop at the red light and it is not possible for traffic wardens to man all four sides at the same time. We have to literally run for our lives,” said Pal.

While a critical component of smart mobility is safer inclusive infrastructure for pedestrians, cyclists and the differently abled, a considerable chunk of our roads have historically given preference to motorized vehicles in street design.

“The pedestrian policy is a milestone in our efforts to provide high-quality pedestrian infrastructure with equitable allocation of road space. Policies to discourage the use of personal vehicles and give priority to public transport and non-motorized transport are the only ways to effectively deal with congestion,” said Ranjit Gadgil, Programme Director, Parisar and member of the Non-motorized Transport Committee of the PMC.

“This is what the National Urban Transport Policy of the Govt of India and PMC’s own Comprehensive Mobility Plan state, yet decisions on the ground are completely contrary to this,” added Gadgil.

Read the concluding part tomorrow: Pune University Chowk and exclusive interview with DCP Traffic