A walkable Bengaluru: Can better footpaths fix the city’s traffic woes?

Bengaluru's traffic issues may be resolved by improving footpaths rather than building more flyovers, found a recent roundtable discussion.

What if fixing Bengaluru’s traffic didn’t mean building more flyovers, but better footpaths? At a recent roundtable hosted by Jana Urban Space Foundation and Janaagraha, civic officials, mobility experts, and citizen groups came together to explore just that.

The roundtable discussion, where civic officials, mobility experts, and citizen groups came together, emphasized the need for pedestrian-friendly roads.

The event, called “Walkable Bengaluru,” made a strong case for reimagining the city’s roads as safe, people-friendly public spaces, and not just vehicle corridors.

They noted that Bengaluru is now the world’s third most congested city, with an average speed of just 17.6 kmph. Residents lose 117 hours a year stuck in traffic, and a pedestrian loses their life every 30 hours. Despite this, only 1.25 per cent of the city’s budget goes toward pedestrian infrastructure.

The speakers at this roundtable highlighted how projects like Tender S.U.R.E., a model that has been adopted to upgrade selected main roads in Bengaluru to international standards, have already made a big difference. It redesigned 174 km of city roads with wider footpaths, proper drains, and organized utilities.

These streets now see 228 per cent more pedestrians and 117 per cent more women walking compared to older roads, a press release stated. The problem however is that as much as 14,000 km of roads in Bengaluru are still lagging behind.

Experts at the roundtable urged Bengaluru to launch a citywide “Walkability Mission”. The plan included adopting pedestrian-first design standards, setting up dedicated urban design teams in every civic body, improving contractor quality, training engineers, and funding projects through green bonds and public-private partnerships.

“Bengaluru has the climate, metro connectivity, and proven models to become India’s first truly walkable city,” said Nithya Ramesh, Director of Planning and Design at Jana Urban Space Foundation. GBA Chief Engineers Basavaraj Kabade and Lokesh Mahadevaiah added that 1,000 km of new roads are being upgraded with pedestrian-friendly features.