Let's first work on the city's missing facilities

While plans to make Mumbai more pedestrian-friendly is long overdue, let us start working on the missing aspects even as all the ambitious uniform signage and pavements are still to take off

We are cheering the fact that the BMC has put the pedestrian at the top of the pecking order. The civic body's top boss P Pardeshi has sent out instructions to a few ward officials to initiate putting up uniform signage around shops across the city.

Another initiative which gets a thumbs up is compound walls around gardens making way for railings. This is because pedestrians can see through these railings and enjoy the greenery that is visible through the gaps between the railings.

While plans to make Mumbai more pedestrian-friendly is long overdue, let us start working on the missing aspects even as all the ambitious uniform signage and pavements are still to take off. Do see that the missing paver blocks on footpaths, broken edges are repaired as soon as possible, to allow for smoother movement. Senior citizens are finding it extremely challenging to walk on footpaths, leave alone cross roads.

Uniform signage is welcome as it will give the city a streamlined look. Yet, all the missing signage needs to be replaced. Signage that has been erased because of wear and tear, broken and defaced signboards need immediate attention. In the tourist areas of Mumbai, we often witness foreigners scanning our roads for signs that would direct them to different locations or facilities. They often take the help of hawkers, who struggle to make them understand where they want to go.

A pedestrian-friendly city also means clean subways to help people cross the roads. Well-lit skywalks to make areas from the stations easy to negotiate. One escalator at the Nana Chowk junction has been defunct since years, rendering one arm of the massive skywalk at SoBo completely useless. It is these existing problems that need to be resolved, even while new energy is being pumped into for-the-pedestrian concept.

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