Roadwork projects must consider issues of pedestrians, say IISc researchers

Infrastructure projects, especially roadworks, should consider people’s preferences for walking to make Bengaluru a sustainable city, IISc researchers have suggested.

The suggestion comes after a study found that most pedestrians belong to low-income groups who prefer walking or using public transport.

The team of researchers — IIT Ropar’s T M Rahul, IIT Delhi’s M Manoj, Northwestern University’s (Evanston) Divyakant Tahlyan, and Ashish Verma, Associate Professor-Transportation, Indian Institute of Science — noted that pedestrians were neglected while planning transportation infrastructure in Indian cities.

It has created an unsafe environment for the urban poor who form most pedestrians, they said.