The Hindu : Front Page : “Footpaths make all the difference”

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“Footpaths make all the difference”

Priscilla Jebaraj

— Photo: V. Ganesan

Enrique Penalosa

CHENNAI: If today’s cities are a battleground between cars and people, then Enrique Penalosa is firmly on the side of those who prefer walking to wheels.

“The single biggest difference between the infrastructure of an advanced nation and a backward nation is its footpaths, not its highways,” the former Mayor of the Colombian capital Bogota told The Hindu during a visit to Chennai on Thursday.

“Look at the poorest African nations — they will all have some highway … But it is the quality of the footpath that determines the quality of life in a city,” he says, pointing out that in European cities, large areas are roped off for pedestrians and a vibrant street life, while many roads have more space for walkers and cyclists than for car traffic.

In his years as Bogota Mayor, Mr. Penalosa widened footpaths, reduced the number of cars on the roads in peak hours, created a world-class bus rapid transit system, reclaimed waterfronts for the public, and — in a move that nearly got him impeached — banned cars from parking on pavements. “Parking is not a constitutional right in any country,” he says. “It’s a private problem that should be solved in private spaces with private money.”

His way of thinking boggled the minds of many of his hearers at an interactive session organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry and City Connect on Thursday. “People don’t want to cycle in a tropical city,” said one participant. “We are aiming to make cars available to everyone in the city, not just the rich,” protested another.

Mr. Penalosa, who works with the Institute for Transportation Development and Policy, says the criticism is common, especially in developing countries where car ownership is a sign of wealth, but he points out that for reasons of equity as well as practical efficiency, pedestrians and public transport must be given priority over private car owners.

“Only 5 per cent of households in the city drive cars,” he points out. “If we were in a war and there was a tremendous scarcity of fuel, I am sure you would give the fuel to the buses, not the cars, so the city can function. Now we have an extreme scarcity of space … It would be most democratic and efficient to allocate this space in favour of the most people — for buses, cycles and pedestrians.”

Apart from considerations of equality is the sheer mathematical impossibility of a city where everyone drives a car regularly. “Bigger roads and flyovers will never solve the problem of traffic. It has never solved the problem in any city in the world,” he declares. So far as Chennai’s proposed elevated expressway along the coast is concerned, he predicts that within a maximum of five years, traffic will be jammed on it as well.

At least every new road should include a bus lane and wide cycling paths and pavements, he pleads. “A bus lane will move 40,000 people per hour. One lane of cars will transport less than 2,000 people. Which is more efficient?”

Mr. Penalosa will meet State and city officials over the next few days to promote his vision of a city where people enjoy the street life and the outdoors. He is especially enthusiastic about transplanting Bogota’s successful bus rapid transit system TransMilenio to Chennai. The cost for a quality system: $110 million for a 20 km stretch. The reward: economic growth.

“In the 21st century, a better city is the best investment for economic development,” he says. In an economic environment where labour is in even more demand than capital, the top locations for businesses will be those with a high quality of life. In Mr. Penalosa’s experience, wide, clean footpaths are the first step towards building that quality.

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