With a brand-new metro you could assume the city of Kochi in southern India is at the forefront of the livable cities trend, but pedestrians in the second-largest city in Kerala state might dispute that.

For example, 54% of footpaths in the city were found to be in poor condition, 34% ‘fair’ and 12% ‘good’, according to a report commissioned by HealthBridge partner Evangelical Social Action Forum (ESAF).

63% of footpaths had ‘a lot’ of obstructions, so that in 86% of cases, pedestrians were forced to deviate from the path at least four times on a single trip, according to the report, Walkability and Pedestrian Facilities in Kochi 2016-2017. Findings are based on secondary and primary data, including interviews with pedestrians.

Only 2% of footpaths were found to have no obstructions, which includes items such as pillars and cables, cars and motorcycles and debris.

“Political will and adequate budget allocation is not in sync with the requirements of the city,” concludes the report. “Only 23% rated the pedestrian infrastructure as just sufficient to ensure the safety of pedestrians.”

The report makes a number of recommendations, including:

• All high volume streets should have footpath on both sides
• The City Corporation should ensure that garbage is collected on a daily basis and footpaths are clear
• Laws should be strictly enforced to ensure obstruction-free footpaths and that pedestrian rights are given priority
• Dust bins and toilets should be placed at conveniently located places
• When footpaths have a gradient unsafe for elderly people to walk, hand rails should be provided.

See the report in our Library

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