Pedestrian Light Control Activation (PELICAN) crossings — the pedestrian-controlled road-crossing signals used where there are no signals otherwise — are popular all over the world, and Bengaluru has also tried to implement this system in the city. But many have been broken and unusable for months, and there is the disappointment that nobody respects the pedestrian crossing system.
Pelican crossings first appeared in the city in 2005, at busy intersections where people need to cross. Despite that, there is still little awareness of how to use them, or they can’t be used like they should be.
In fact, The News Minute has previously reported that drivers don’t stop for the pedestrian crossings, ignoring road users who are rightfully trying to use the pelican crossing system.
Anusha Chitturi with the Foothpath Initiative, a group which works on pedestrian safety, says that first, basic infrastructure should be in place. “On many roads there are no proper demarcations for the people to cross, and this basic infrastructure should be in place before this expensive equipment is used. If people don’t know where to cross and cars don’t even know where to stop, then what is the point? We need more tabletop speed-breakers as well to control the speed of traffic in the city.”
She says that the initiative had previously filed an RTI regarding the number of pelican crossings in the city, and got the information that there are 55 such crossings in the city. Out of this, 35 don’t work. Which means that there are only 20 working pelican crossings in the city.
“People keep using it, and so it breaks through wear and tear, so some of the pelican crossings are out of use. We are putting out a tender in 2 weeks to fix around 35 pelican crossings in the city.” says Ravikanthe Gowda, the Joint Commissioner of Police for traffic.
“In a city where a third of the population walks, the city should take pedestrian safety more seriously. Pedestrians are risking their lives just by walking.” says Pawan Mulukutla, an urban mobility expert.
How can the city better accommodate the people who walk? “The time given for crossing should be extended. All people cannot cross within the duration as it is inadequate.” He also went on to say that there should be more pelican crossings at every junction, so that people have the option to cross when they need to.