Mumbai: More than a year ago, Sadiq Sayyed, a 38-year-old pedestrian, was fatally struck by a dumper in a hit-and-run incident on the Ghatkopar-Mankhurd Link Road at Govandi. Sayyed, like many others, had to walk through a stretch unsafe for pedestrians as he had no other alternative. The road crash, which occurred on Jan 3, 2024, is not an isolated case.
Pedestrians are disproportionately affected in hit-and-run incidents, data with the Mumbai Traffic Police shows. Between 2021 and 2023, pedestrians were the most impacted in hit-and-runs compared to any other road user. The figure was a staggering 54% in 2023 alone, up from 48% the previous year (see graphic). Forty per cent of all fatal road crash victims in the same year were pedestrians, with men aged 35-39 being most vulnerable.
For Sayyed’s family, the pain was compounded by the slow progress in the investigation. “We had to keep following up with the police to access CCTV footage of the area. I had dashed off a complaint to senior officers,” recounted Sadiq’s brother, Imtiyaz. He added that Sadiq was looking after their aged mother and his untimely death has left her shattered.
Beyond fatalities, countless pedestrians endure life-altering injuries and disabilities from road accidents. These individuals face immense burdens, including exorbitant medical expenses and the struggle to get back to normal life. In Dec 2024, senior citizen Mangilal Kothari was left paralysed after being hit by a speeding motorcycle in Koldongri, Andheri East. “My grandfather had safely used the zebra crossing at Koldongri for decades. But for the past few months, excavation has rendered the zebra crossing unusable,” said Kothari’s grandson, Mehul.
These incidents highlight the urgent need for better pedestrian facilities. “There has been no focus on pedestrian infrastructure in Mumbai’s suburbs,” said activist Rishi Aggarwal, founder of the Walking Project, an initiative advocating for pedestrians. Aggarwal cites the stretch between IIT-Powai and Larsen & Toubro on Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road (JVLR) as a prime example of a busy urban thoroughfare lacking basic facilities for those on foot. While activists’ engagement with the BMC has led to improvements on parts of Andheri-Kurla Road, much remains to be done in the rest of the city.
The Walking Project is now urging the BMC to prioritise pedestrian safety on SV Road, a vital artery connecting major railway stations, educational institutions, and residential colonies.
Dhawal Ashar, head of the integrated transport programme at WRI India, highlights another critical factor: Visual obstructions. “Our street environment has changed significantly,” he said. “Traffic islands are higher and inaccessible, several Metro pillars now exist and there is a lot more street parking compared to before. All of these can serve as an obstruction to a crossing pedestrian. Current road design needs to account for these issues.”
Pedestrians crossing over at flyover exits can create potential conflicts—but these can also be resolved through design, Ashar said.
An initiative by the traffic police, in collaboration with the Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety, is trying to do exactly that. They recently conducted trials to improve safety at three critical “black spots”: Oberoi Mall Junction at Goregaon, Trauma Care Hospital Junction at Jogeshwari, and Bisleri Junction at Andheri. A “black spot” is a 500m stretch on an urban road or highway with a history of serious road crashes for three consecutive years. The interventions included: Tightening the turning space for drivers to reduce speeding, providing dedicated pedestrian crossings and refuge areas, and implementing better markings and signage.
For instance, at the Trauma Care Hospital Junction and Oberoi Mall Junction, experts found that the pedestrian crossing was very long and had no median, making the crossing risky. For the trial, a refuge space was created so that pedestrians could stop safely while traffic movement was on.
The trials at all three black spots were successful and permanent construction of the tested interventions will be done by the BMC in collaboration with the traffic police, officials said.
(This is part of a series on issues concerning pedestrians in Mumbai)