Neglected FOBs stark reminder of what Chennai does not need to improve pedestrian safety

CHENNAI: Finding an open stretch of road during peak hours in Chennai is akin to winning online contests e-commerce portals conduct during festivals. But on Tuesday, Adyar resident Nithin Prasad could not be luckier when he found an empty road ahead as soon as he cleared the Saidapet traffic signal around 4.30pm.
Prasad revved up his car that came to a screeching halt seconds later.A jaywalking pedestrian had ‘intercepted’ the vehicle at the open signal near Taluk Office Road. “I don’t understand why people risk their lives and run onto the road. The man could have taken the nearby pedestrian bridge instead,” said Prasad.

But the foot over-bridges (FOB) the irked motorist was referring to are seldom used in Chennai. And it is more than just laziness that deters a pedestrian from taking an FOB. The bridge at Saidapet, for instance, was built for Rs 33 lakh in 2011 by the highways department. But despite its presence at a busy junction on Anna Salai, very few people use it because the design of the facility makes a daily commute look like an unwanted trek. Besides, a zebra crossing below, which halts traffic and lets commuters saunter across the road, renders the bridge redundant.
“Foot over-bridges have a lot of steps and are steep. Even young people would find it tough to climb,” said K P Subramanian, former urban engineering professor at Anna University.
But that message has not reached the highways department it seems for it has proposed to build more such bridges near Alandur and Little Mount metro stations.
Raj Cherubal, CEO of Chennai Smart City Limited, told TOI that escalators were key to make foot over-bridges click. “It is a design failure if escalators are not part of FOBs. We cannot expect people to use elevators to cross a foot over-bridge,” said Cherubal. The FOB on Nungambakkam High Road was fitted with an elevator in 2009 by the corporation. But the Rs 17 lakh spent on the elevator went down the drain and the structure has now become defunct.
The idea of allowing bureaucrats to plan and build citizen infrastructure with no provision for accountability irks Jayaram Venkatesan, convener of Arappor Iyakkam. “Look at the foot over-bridges built spending crores by highways department in Taramani. No one uses it. People need to be consulted by officials before such decisions are made. Had they asked people if they would prefer climbing a zigzag stair case and walk 300m to cross a road that is barely 100 feet, the people would have said no,” said Venkatesan.
Subramanian said if the authorities were serious about promoting non-motorised transport, then they should allow pedestrians to move at road level instead of forcing them below the traffic (subway) or above (FOB). “The corporation needs to widen footpaths. Building foot over-bridges is not a solution because it ends up becoming a den for anti-social elements. It is a waste of money,” he said.