Over 104 pedestrians lost their lives in and around the due to a dismal lack of safety measures
Walking on the city streets has become a safety hazard, with pedestrians having to watch out for open drains and encroached footpaths even as vehicles whizz by.
Thanks to the lack of safety measures for pedestrians and flouting of traffic rules by motorists, as many as 104 pedestrians lost their lives in and around the city under Vijayawada Commissionerate limits in 2021. Of the 287 fatalities in road accidents that occurred in the city, pedestrians accounted for 36.2%, according to figures obtained from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB)‘s Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India report.
In 2020, 74 pedestrians lost their lives in roads accidents and in 2019, 96 pedestrians were killed. A majority of these deaths occurred on national highways.
Despite the alarming rise in the number of pedestrian deaths, there continues to be no improvement in road infrastructure to ensure their safety either on national highways or on city roads.
MG Road, a major arterial road in the city, is testimony to the lack of pedestrian safety despite the presence of several educational institutions.
Pedestrians are deprived of their right to use the footpath and zebra crossings due to encroachments and unplanned changes to the road design such as the closure of the four-road junctions.
The Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) is going to implement a Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Policy, as part of which pedestrian-friendly avenues are created alongside the major roads and adjacent to residential and commercial areas. This is expected to bring down the pedestrian deaths, say officials
