No zebra crossing on BB Road makes pedestrians risk their life

Rawalpindi

No doubt, the Punjab government has spent millions of rupees on the improvement of roads, but has left helpless pedestrians in the lurch particularly here on busiest Benazir Bhutto Road which still lacks proper zebra crossings.

There used to be two bridges on Benazir Bhutto Road, one near Rawalpindi General Hospital (RGH) and another near Shamsabad, for pedestrians but both bridges were removed during construction work on Metro Bus Service project.

The pedestrians, particularly elderly people and women, have been continuously facing hell like situation while crossing BB Road from Mareer Chowk to Chandni Chowk. Thousands of vehicles daily flow from both sides of the road, especially during office timings, making it impossible for the pedestrians to cross the road.

Zebra or pedestrian crossings are used around the world to cross roads. But, concerned authorities are not considering this facility on any road of Rawalpindi, making public to risk their life while crossing the roads.

The Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) official spokesman Hafiz Irfan said that they are seriously considering to mark zebra crossings on major roads where pedestrians could cross them easily. He admitted that pedestrians are facing great difficulties in crossing busy roads particularly Benazir Bhutto Road.

It seems that Rawalpindi District Authority (RDA) is apparently short of ideas on how to manage the load while ensuring safety to the life of commuters and pedestrians, said a resident of the city.

Widening of roads is not an option. Already stretched to the limit, they have resorted to closing major intersections and U-turns along Benazir Bhutto Road better known as Murree Road. Accidents major and minor are a daily occurrence. Children, women and the elderly are the worst affected as they have to take long walk to find ways to cross the roads. The busiest Benazir Bhutto Road is without overhead bridge or zebra crossing for pedestrians that’s why they are finding out ways to cross roads safely. Numerous speeding vehicles, motorbikes and pedestrians give the road a look of a maze posing a great threat to whoever happens to be on and around it.

A Senior Traffic Warden, Muhammad Akhtar, said that pedestrians are facing difficulties in crossing Benazir Bhutto Road due to continuous flow of vehicles. There should be zebra crossings where pedestrians could cross roads easily, he said. Secondly, wrong parking is another issue here on roads, therefore, traffic rush increasing day-by-day, he said.

 It is worth mentioning here that the traffic police have closed a number of signals to ensure smooth flow of traffic but this has deprived the pedestrians of their right to cross roads in a decent way. The two wheelers are much dangerous for pedestrians as owing to the closure of intersections and U-turns motorcyclists are seen jumping the divider.

“I agree crossing footpath is dangerous. This is not a civilized way. This is a sheer violation of law. But it is difficult to follow rules when the government closes the roads without arranging alternative routes,” said Kamran Ahmed a motorcyclist who jumped the divider to take a turn near Marreer Bridge.

Shahid Mehmood Butt, a local, said that district government should mark zebra crossings to cross the roads for pedestrians but it was necessary to implement zebra crossing rules. The traffic police officials should monitor violator at any cost otherwise this exercise would remain futile, he said.