How walkable is your city?
Credit to Author: The Manila Times| Date: Fri, 22 Mar 2019 16:27:48 +0000
Filipinos long for a future with clean air, convenient access to social and economic activities and green public spaces that people can walk to, play in and enjoy. Yet, outside our doorsteps, we find a fundamental constraint—the poor walkability of our neighborhoods.
Sidewalks are missing, uneven, too narrow or filled with obstructions, including electric poles and private motor vehicles illegally parked.
Although the traffic code penalizes driving over or parking on sidewalks, enforcement of this provision of RA 4136 has been lax. And in spite of laws requiring public infrastructure and facilities to be wheelchair-accessible with proper ramps, few sidewalks pass the test.
In some cities, the welfare of pedestrians is sacrificed to make cars go faster. Ground-level pedestrian crosswalks are removed and pedestrians are made to climb stairs and use an elevated pedestrian crosswalk; the needs of children, people with physical disability or those carrying heavy packages are not considered in such decisions. This is wrong policy at a time when we need to encourage more walking, cycling and public transport and less private vehicle use.
When sidewalks are missing or obstructed, people are forced to walk on the roadway, creating a safety hazard both for the people walking as well as the vehicles on the road. When roads are without streetlights, they become magnets for crime; pedestrians then avoid walking around when it is dark.
In the end, all of us are pedestrians. We need to have safe walkways so people of all abilities can move around our cities. Where pedestrian infrastructure is lacking or poor quality, people’s mobility is restricted. With limited mobility, people’s rights to health, work, education and participation in cultural and social life are violated.
Pedestrian infrastructure should be improved in tandem with public transport services. If people cannot get to public transport because safe walkways are missing, the benefits from mass transit development will be muted. When street design disregards the needs of pedestrians, the implicit message is that streets are for cars, not people. This message needs to be rejected.
Walkability is not just about safety and access. A walkable neighborhood is vibrant, attractive and fun. An area where people enjoy strolling or congregating is also where enterprises thrive. Many young people are increasingly choosing neighborhoods where active street life provides opportunities for cultural activities, outdoor recreation, social interaction and a sense of community.
Because the walkability of our streets affects people’s safety, health, productivity and even happiness, its lack is a growing concern. For this reason, community groups are building awareness on and public support for walkability improvement. Several civil society organizations want walkability and mobility to be prominent election issues.
Big infrastructure, such as rail systems and terminals, are essential. Just as important is small neighborhood infrastructure–pocket parks, street lighting, jeepney stops, bike lanes and walkways with greenery and shading. The Department of Budget and Management gave walkability a big push in 2018 with its P2.5 billion “Green, Green, Green” Program, offering grants to local government units for development of “green” and inclusive public space.
This morning, a symposium is being held from 9 am to 12 pm at the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) in Ortigas Center to talk about partnerships between government and communities to improve walkability. Under the sponsorship of the school’s admissions office and Anima, a UA&P student organization, the symposium will explore how local stakeholders can work together with government to expand public space and make neighborhoods more walkable.
The spotlight will be on a campaign to improve walkability on Pearl Drive, the busy road along the perimeter of UA&P. A “Change.Org” petition was launched in October 2018 asking that a linear park be created along Pearl Drive out of a small strip of land between the sidewalk and Lanuza Creek–(the narrow strip of land is currently used as a parking lot. Over 5,000 signatures were collected for the petition from residents of Barangay San Antonio in Pasig City and from UA&P students and faculty.
Petitioners cited the danger students and local residents are exposed to when cars drive over the sidewalk to get in and out of a parking lot alongside the creek. Many students recount near-collisions when they are forced to walk on the roadway, because parked cars were blocking the sidewalk. There is also concern about the damage to the sidewalk from the daily load of cars that drive on top of the paved walkway which was not designed to carry the load of a motor vehicle.
The Pearl Drive matter is still to be resolved. Cars continue to drive on top of the sidewalk to get to parking spaces beside the creek.
Meanwhile, students and barangay residents are hoping the local government, the land owner and the parking lot operator will see the merits of re-purposing the narrow piece of land for the safety of pedestrians and in the larger public interest.
Another highlight of today’s symposium will be the keynote address by Arch. Paulo Alcazaren, the designer of Iloilo’s famous Esplanade and one of the leading advocates of inclusive mobility. Paulo’s talk, entitled, “Everyone Walks in a Woke City” will, no doubt, share his dream of a
“Walkable Philippines”. Paulo will also present his vision of what Pearl Drive could look like with a linear park and “greenway” created out of today’s parking lot.
Pearl Drive is one bright spark of local initiative. The hope is that this small spark will fire up the interest and determination of thousands more Filipinos to make their neighborhoods walkable and livable.
Robert Y. Siy is a development economist, city and regional planner, and public transport advocate. He can be reached at mobilitymatters.ph@yahoo.com or followed on Twitter @RobertRsiy
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