Crossing the road – Difficulties of Disabled and Senior Citizens - suggested solutions

Crossing the road – Difficulties of Disabled and Senior Citizens

Nowadays traffic has increased so much that crossing a road from one side to the other has become hazardous for the disabled and senior citizens. There are no traffic signals, traffic police or volunteers or zebra crossings at many busy junctions to control traffic. As a result of dividers and medians sometimes one has to walk a long distance and take a u turn to go to opposite side. One has to cross at his own risk, if he chooses to climb over median separator. One friend used to hire an auto just to get to the other side or to avoid walking long distances forcing him to take u turn. Dividers are too high and risky to use.

What should be done to mitigate these problems? Here is a quick enumeration of ten suggestions:

1. Install zebra crossings at reasonable distances. Paint them bright. Provide proper illumination during night time.

2. Repair road clearing potholes pits etc

3. Provide where possible audible announcements to interpret change of signal lights

4. Provide signal lights in plenty wherever feasible.

5. Keep police men or volunteers at road crossings. Volunteers are available from Aasara, Scouts, NCC and even in corporate companies. Senior Citizens associations are also ready to send volunteers who are healthy and willing.

6. Sensitize students and youth in colleges about caring for elders. Let helping the needy to cross roads be one of the many things they can do

7. Sensitize senior citizens in pedestrian safety by organizing training programs by police

8. Book and punish those who are guilty of traffic offenses, especially harming vulnerable pedestrians.

9. Wheever feasible provide overhead pathway crossovers with lifts.

10.Underground subways to reach other side where sufficient space is available should be constructed

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Our Streets are Unsafe but can we avoid using them?

Our Streets are unsafe, but can we avoid using them?

Our streets are unsafe for all, especially pedestrians. If you are a senior citizen you are all the more vulnerable.  I include roads and highways when I say streets. The causes or conditions leading to rendering roads unsafe include our selves (human beings), animals and nature itself.

It is becoming extremely difficult to cross even inner streets of a residential area.  It is not just the irritating factor of heavy traffic making you wait for the traffic to subside but also irresponsible vehicle drivers. The other day I was crossing the road when traffic cleared but a bike fellow came in wrong direction and hit me.  Maintenance People cut electric or telephone poles and leave metal stub projections on the ground, which are dangerous for walkers. They trip and fall and break their hips. Residents allow thorny vegetation – bougainvillea for instance – to grow and obstruct walkers right at their eye level.

During rainy season, water flows like river on the streets. You don’t know if you will reach home safe or disappear in a watery grave in uncovered drainage manhole. During Shankranti you may get your throat or leg cut by manja thread. Or during Deepavali you may get hurt by crackers fired without care or caution. But these are seasonal for a day or two. Avoiding stepping on dogs’ shit is a tricky task during morning walk. Dogs prefer to poop in all parts of the street not just the pedestrian pathways. Dog owners have no responsibility or control over their pets. Mad street dogs may bite you too, choosing which part to bite on their own. Streets are dark during night due to non-working street lights and even a torch would not help as roads are uneven filled with debris and other obstructions.

The only way you can avoid trouble to yourself, as Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev says in a different context: Be hundred percent aware of the present. This applies even when you are a street walker.

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