By Jayalath (Jay) Ameresekere
Photos by Leszek Apouchtine
Planners and Engineers have, in the past, tended to be more concerned with the ease and comfort of the motorist to the detriment of other road users. This trend seems to have changed over the years and today we find greater attention being paid to non- motorized transport, mainly the bicycle. Bicycle lanes have become almost an integral part of road planning and it is easy to understand how this came into being. Cycling as a mode of transport is backed by environmentalists as it does not ‘pollute’ in the way a motorcar does, by physicians as it is a very beneficial physical exercise and by cycling enthusiasts. It has even been transformed into an international competitive sport. In the city of Vancouver, I have observed numerous signs displaying figures of a motor car and a bicycle with the caption “Share the road”. While this kind of sharing is to be commended, I was intrigued by the omission of the pedestrian from this sign; after all, the pedestrian is the first user of the road, having been a road user even before the wheel was invented.
I had pondered over this for some time and was nudged into expressing my opinion when I read an article in The State of Vancouver titled Vancouver needs a pedestrian advocate says SFU professor. The contents referred to an interview with Prof. Anthony Perl, Director of the Urban Studies program at SFU in which he points out that space is being made available for bicycle lanes to the detriment of pedestrians as it is their space which is being taken to make room for bicycles. He adds further that it is not cyclists but walkers who are the fastest-growing share of transportation modes in the city.
Prof. Perl’s remarks that Vancouver needs a pedestrian advocate sparked responses which were published in the same journal. One of those who responded mentions that pedestrians have ‘No lobby, no Council Advisory Committee and no champion who is involved”. Another says “There have been a number of people who have played that role (pedestrian advocate) over the years and have consistently met with apathy and sometimes, even hostility from the people who run Vancouver, both in and outside City Hall”. The same person mentions Bev Ballantyne who had headed a movement called “Putting Pedestrians First” which had persevered for some years but had been ineffective. Having written a dissertation on pedestrians for my Master’s Degree in Australia some years ago, I could not resist making some observations on the subject.
As far as the use of the road is concerned, pedestrians are (or should be) on an equal footing with other road users be they motorists or cyclists or any others. They should I believe therefore, receive the same consideration and attention as other users when plans are formulated and implemented.
Walking is the fundamental mode of travel and the pedestrian is the original user of the road and whatever other mode of travel is used, a part of the journey will inevitably be made on foot. As Herbert Levinson points out “Each trip by car, bus or train begins and ends as a pedestrian.” Streets were first used by pedestrians and were originally winding pathways or “pedestrian-ways.” As Lewis Mumford, the well known urban planner has stated, when people began to ride and use animal drawn carriages, the street had to be straightened and widened. Those who rode became separated from those who walked – the rich from the poor. Very often a distinction is made between pedestrians and traffic where the former means those who walk and the latter, vehicles. But in some developing countries (e.g. Sri Lanka) pedestrians are traffic and it has been legalized by inclusion in the Motor Traffic Act. In fact the terms “pedestrian traffic” and “vehicular traffic” are commonly used. From the foregoing it would appear that in the same way that endangered species are protected in their habitat pedestrians should be looked after and protected; besides, they are human beings.
While it is admitted that part of the solution is to have pedestrian representation that could make an impact on decision makers, other courses of action also need to be pursued. Emphasizing that pedestrians are sharers of the road along with motorists and cyclists, may help in changing the thinking or the “psyche” of planners so that the hostility that those who championed pedestrians experienced earlier, might be eliminated.
In re:place in March of this year, Ian Macphee (Is Vancouver ready for pedestrian priority streets?) quotes the success of pedestrian priority streets in Brighton, England and in Copenhagen and discusses the introduction of similar streets in Vancouver. In these streets, pedestrian -vehicle interaction is not regulated and the carriageway (roadway) is shared by all road users. Besides, as indicated by its name, on these streets primary consideration is given to the pedestrian. Apart from its effectiveness as a more harmonious relationship among the different road users, it helps to focus on the pedestrian. It has also been found that these measures have helped reduce accidents.
Another strategy would be to close streets to vehicular traffic on Sundays and allow pedestrians to use them. The Vancouver Sun of 30th May 2009 , reports that there would be road closures in summer to encourage commercial activity on selected streets. These closures have been planned for long periods and are to be made more attractive by running stalls and mini shops so that pedestrians would gather in larger numbers. This idea also has its opponents. Earlier this month, the CBC has reported that the popular road closures on Commercial Drive have been cancelled due to complaints from local businesses.
While there is no guarantee that any of these measures will improve the “plight” of the pedestrian in the planning process, they may help in changing the thinking of City planners to consider the importance of planning for the pedestrian as considerately as they plan for other road users.
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Jayalath (Jay) Ameresekere got his Master of Town Planning (MTP) from the University of New South Wales, Australia and a Graduate Diploma in Transport Engineering from the same University. He worked as Director Planning and later as Consultant to the Ministry of Transport and Highways in Sri Lanka. Writing short stories is his hobby.