The design and planning of Indian cities have become car-centric, intending to enable automobiles to move more quickly, even at the price of pedestrian mobility, the executive director of the Centre for Science and Environment said during a discussion on urban mobility.
To speed up vehicular traffic, the authorities have reduced the width of pavements, shut down crossings, and prohibited the use of bicycles, said Anumita Roy Chowdhury.
Shutting down crossings creates obstacles for those who are walking or want to cycle to their destinations.
More cars mean more emissions and more heat exhaust from the engines. In a warming world, this further accumulates heat and adds to the air pollution.
“Motorised vehicles are among the top contributors to air pollution in Calcutta and many other cities. The heat exhaust of cars is among the top sources of heat generators in cities. Yet, our planning is mostly car-centric, and the authorities are concerned about how to move cars faster. The authorities in many Indian cities are taking decisions that are creating more obstacles to those who walk or cycle to their destinations,” Roy Chowdhury said at a programme organised by the SwitchON Foundation that works for sustainable transport options.
“The focus must be on all road users. Those who use the bus or Metro have to walk to a metro station or a bus stop. If footpaths are not available or if easy access to a bus stop or metro station is blocked, people will move away from public transport. Only buying buses will not help. An enabling environment where people are enthused to use them must be created,” she said.
In Calcutta, cycling is prohibited on more than 60 arterial roads. Despite pleas from many, the police have not lifted the ban.
Christopher Gerber, a neurosurgeon with the Institute of Neurosciences Kolkata who cycles every day, rues the fact that he cannot cycle to the Calcutta Maidan.
“I live in Salt Lake, but I cannot go to the Maidan because the roads leading to the Maidan are off-limits for cycles. Cycling is good for the lungs and the legs,” Gerber said.
According to an urban transport expert, foot over bridges are built to enable smooth traffic movement, but most of them remain unused.
Experts said there was no way to expand the road network other than adding flyovers. Alternative thinking is necessary because traffic congestion is increasing, and it will reduce productivity in cities.
“This sort of traffic congestion is unsustainable. About 8 per cent of the land area in Calcutta is taken up for the parking of cars. In a city with very little road space, this creates more problems,” said Roy Chowdhury.
To reduce congestion that is ubiquitous in Indian cities, public transport ridership has to be doubled or tripled in the next few years. To do so, a safe walking space and easy access to public transport are essential.
A former urban development secretary of the Bengal government admitted that the design of cities was vehicle-centric. He said that policy actions were needed to change this, though it is well recognised and often discussed.
“The solution to this problem needs a multi-sectoral approach. Car ownership has to be restricted. More vehicles on the road are shrinking road space, causing snarls and air pollution,” he said.
“While a car is designed to carry 4 or 5 persons, in reality, most often only 1 or 2 persons travel in a car. If used properly, the number of vehicles can come down,” he said.
He admitted that the amount of investment required in public transport infrastructure was missing.
Metro Railways was a very good investment, but the last-mile connectivity, or the link to the Metro, is still poor, a reason why many prefer a car over the Metro.
“Calcutta has the unique advantage of having a river running along its border from north to south. If we had good connectivity to all jetties along the river, many could have used the river to reach north from south,” he said.