【社会】在印度城市行走为何如此困难

【来源龙腾网】

正文原创翻译：

In India, if you ask a pedestrian how many obstacles they've encountered on a footpath, they may not be able to count them - but they'll certainly tell you that most footpaths are in poor condition.

在印度，如果你问行人在人行道上遇到过多少障碍，他们可能数不清，但他们肯定会告诉你，大多数人行道的路况都很差。

This is what Arun Pai says he learnt when he started asking people about their experience walking on the streets of his city, Bengaluru (formerly Bangalore), in southern India.

Arun Pai 说，当他开始询问人们在印度南部城市班加罗尔（原班加罗尔）的街道上行走的体验时，他了解到了这一点。

This month he set up a "fun challenge" - called the 'world's longest footpath run' - which invited people to walk or jog on an 11km (8 miles) stretch of footpath and make a note of all the obstacles they encountered, like hawkers, garbage or broken slabs of concrete. Next, they were asked to rate the footpath on a scale of one to five.

本月，他发起了一项名为 “世界最长人行道长跑 ”的 “趣味挑战”，邀请人们在11公里（8英里）长的人行道上步行或慢跑，并记下他们遇到的所有障碍，如小贩、垃圾或破损的水泥板。然后，要求他们用 1 到 5 分给这条人行道打分。

"When you have specifics, it gets easier to ask the authorities to take action. Instead of telling your local politician "the footpaths are bad", you can ask him or her "to fix specific spots on a street," Mr Pai says.

“有了具体的数据，要求相关部门采取行动就变得容易多了。Pai 先生说："与其告诉当地的政客‘人行道很糟糕’，你可以要求他或她‘修复街道上的特定位置’。

Mr Pai, who is the founder of Bangalore Walks, a non-profit that promotes walking, is among several citizen activists who are pushing to make the country's roads more pedestrian-friendly.

Pai 先生是推广步行的非营利组织 “班加罗尔步行”（Bangalore Walks）的创始人，他是几位公民积极分子中的一员，他们正在努力使该国的道路更方便行人通行。

In India's capital, a tour company called Delhi by Cycle has been advocating for making the city more cycle-friendly and walkable. These walking-enthusiasts are holding awareness walks, building walking apps and lobbying with politicians to make a change.

在印度首都德里，一家名为 “Delhi by Cycle”的旅游公司一直在倡导让这座城市更适合骑行和步行。这些步行爱好者正在举行宣传步行活动，开发步行应用程序，并游说政治家做出改变。

Even in India's biggest cities, proper footpaths are few and far between and they are often overrun by hawkers and shops, parked vehicles and even cattle. In some places, they double up as homes for the poor.

即使在印度最大的城市里，合适的人行道也是少之又少，而且经常被小贩、商店、停放的车辆甚至牛群占据。在一些地方，人行道还兼作穷人的住所。

Even footpaths that exist are often not built to standard or properly maintained. Navigating roads on foot through crowds and traffic can be a nightmare.

即使是现有的人行道，也往往不是按照标准修建的，也没有得到适当的维护。在拥挤的人群和车流中走路穿行简直就是一场噩梦。

原创翻译：龙腾网 https://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处

Last month, Walking Project, a citizen's group in India's financial capital, Mumbai, released a 'pedestrian manifesto' ahead of Maharashtra state elections to highlight the poor condition of the city's roads and encourage local politicians to take action.

上个月，印度金融之都孟买的一个公民团体 “步行项目 ”在马哈拉施特拉邦选举前发布了一份 “步行者宣言”，强调该市道路状况不佳，并鼓励当地政治家采取行动。

The manifesto included demands for better parking, designated hawking zones, pedestrian-friendly corridors on arterial roads and to make footpaths more accessible to those with mobility challenges.

该宣言包括要求改善停车条件、划定摆卖区、在主干道上修建行人友好型走廊，以及让行动不便者更方便地走人行道。

"Government statistics show that almost 50% of the city's population relies on walking, which is far greater than the 11% that uses private transport and the combined 15% that uses tuk-tuks and buses," says Vendant Mhatre, convener of Walking Project.

“步行项目召集人 Vendant Mhatre 说："政府统计数据显示，这座城市近50%的人口依赖步行，远高于11%的人口使用私人交通工具，以及15%人口使用嘟嘟车和公交车。

"And yet, pedestrians are the most ignored group of users when it comes to framing policies around transport or road safety," he adds.

他补充说："然而，在制定交通或道路安全政策时，行人是最容易被忽视的用户群体。

According to the latest government estimates on road accidents, pedestrian fatalities were the second-highest after those of two-wheeler riders. In 2022, over 10,000 pedestrians lost their lives on national highways across the country, with around 21,000 more sustaining injuries in accidents.

根据政府对道路交通事故的最新估计，行人死亡人数仅次于两轮摩托车驾驶员。2022 年，全国有 1 万多名行人在国道上丧生，另有约 2.1 万人在事故中受伤。

"Authorities often resort to band-aid solutions like adding speed bumps or a signal to curb road accidents. But what is really needed is inter-connected footpaths that can accommodate high footfall," Mr Mhatre says.

“部门往往采用一些治标不治本的办法，如增加减速带或信号灯来遏制道路交通事故。但真正需要的是能够容纳大量人流的相互连接的人行道，"Mhatre 先生说。

Studies have found that addressing the problems of this forgotten group of road users can reap benefits for multiple stakeholders.

研究发现，解决这一被遗忘的道路使用者群体的问题可以为多个利益相关者带来好处。

In 2019, researchers in the southern city of Chennai studied the impact the construction of new footpaths on 100km (62 miles) of the city's streets had on the environment, economy and the health and safety of citizens.

2019 年，南部城市钦奈的研究人员研究了在该市 100 公里（62 英里）的街道上修建新人行道对环境、经济以及市民健康和安全的影响。

They found that the new footpaths encouraged 9% to 27% of the surveyed respondents to walk instead of using motorized transport, which led to a reduction in greenhouse gases and particulate matter. They also learned that the footpaths provided new opportunities for women and lower-income groups, helping them save money as well.

他们发现，新的人行道鼓励 9% 至 27% 的受访者以步行代替使用机动车，从而减少了温室气体和颗粒物。他们还了解到，人行道为妇女和低收入群体提供了新的机会，帮助他们节省了开支。

The survey highlighted how people with disabilities and women might have nuanced requirements from footpaths and that tailoring improvements to meet their needs could enhance accessibility and equity.

调查强调了残疾人和妇女对人行道可能有细微的要求，为满足他们的需求而量身定制的改进措施可以提高无障碍程度和公平性。

"Very often, people don't have a benchmark for footpath quality, especially if they haven't travelled abroad or been exposed to places that have good facilities for pedestrians," Mr Mhatre says. He reasons that that's why there isn't enough outrage about the quality or absence of footpaths in the country.

"很多时候，人们对人行道的质量没有一个基准，尤其是如果他们没有出国旅行过，或者没有接触过那些为行人提供良好设施的地方，”Mhatre 先生说，他认为这就是为什么人们对国内人行道的质量或缺失没有足够的愤怒。

He also points out that most people see walking as an activity performed for leisure or exercise. And so, the infrastructure they associate with walking stops at gardens or walking tracks. In reality, however, people walk to various destinations daily, so the scope of walking infrastructure is far broader.

他还指出，大多数人认为步行是一种休闲或锻炼活动。因此，他们将基础设施与花园的步行站或者步行道联系在一起。但实际上，人们每天都要步行前往不同的目的地，因此步行基础设施的范围要广泛得多。

"Walking is the most economical and environment-friendly way to navigate one's city and it's high time our leaders paid as much attention to walking infrastructure as they do to public transport," Mr Mhatre says.

Mhatre先生说："步行是最经济、最环保的城市出行方式，现在是时候让我们的领导人像关注公共交通一样关注步行基础设施了。

Geetam Tiwari, a professor of civil engineering, says that the main problem is that too much focus is given to solving the problem of car congestion on roads.

土木工程学教授 Geetam Tiwari 说，主要问题在于人们过于关注解决道路上汽车拥堵的问题。

"To improve the flow of traffic, authorities often narrow down footpaths or eliminate them entirely," she says. Ms Tiwari says that this approach is problematic because doing so makes it difficult for pedestrians to access public transport systems, like buses and metros, which can take the pressure off the roads.

她说："为了改善交通流量，部门常常缩小人行道或完全取消人行道。”Tiwari 女士说，这种做法是有问题的，因为这样做会使行人难以进入公共交通系统，像公共汽车和地铁，可以减轻道路的压力。

"It might seem counter-intuitive, but allowing the congestion to persist and focussing on improving infrastructure for pedestrians will help solve the traffic problem in the long run," she says.

她说："这似乎有违直觉，但从长远来看，允许交通拥堵继续存在并集中精力改善行人基础设施将有助于解决交通问题。

Ms Tiwari also says that the federal government should make it mandatory for states to implement the guidelines issued by the Indian Road Congress - a national organisation that lays down designing standards for roads and highways.

Tiwari 女士还表示，联邦政府应强制要求各邦执行印度道路大会发布的指导方针，该全国性组织负责制定道路和高速公路的设计标准。

She says that cities can also implement their own Non-Motorised Transport Policy (NMTP) to create better infrastructure for cyclists and pedestrians.

她说，城市也可以实施自己的非机动交通政策（NMTP），为骑自行车者和行人创造更好的基础设施。

"At the moment, only a handful of cities in India have experimented with a NMTP but its time more cities step up to the plate," she adds.

她补充说："目前，印度只有少数几个城市尝试过非机动化交通政策，但现在是时候让更多的城市行动起来了。