A Battle For Space: Lawless Bikers Turn Pune’s Footpaths Into A Hazard For Pedestrians

Newly constructed footpaths in Pune have been welcomed by many to have spacious walking space, dedicated cycle lanes and sitting facilities, whereas several residents have been complaining about the rampant violations. Two-wheelers, they say, are flouting rules and occupying the footpaths to bypass snarled traffic, making it risky and inconvenient for pedestrians to pass.

Rahul Jadhav, a resident of Dange Chowk, who commutes frequently through the Aundh road, says, “Particularly at the Rakshak Chowk road stretch, two-wheelers and sometimes auto rickshaws and small cars also get over the footpaths to bypass the traffic. And surprisingly, there’s no police personnel present.”

“The rules are so openly breached that at times there are two bike lanes on the footpath. At some places, even the bollards are bent or broken to allow the two-wheelers to pass easily,” Jadhav added. 

Same scenes can be witnessed across different places in Pune, including Pune-Satara road, Akurdi Railway station, Pimple Gurav, Nal Stop, Katraj, and Pimpri, among others.  

According to PMC’s ‘Walking survey’ of December 2024, out of Pune’s 2,000 km road network, only 800 km had footpaths; the figures may have increased, but is still far away from covering the entire road network.

Anjani Mangale, 78, a resident of Nigdi, says, “For senior citizens like us and also for children, it gets really scary to utilise footpaths as you never know how fast a bike can pass beside us. Pedestrians should be taken care of, and merely constructing footpaths isn’t enough; it should be made safe for its users.”. 

“Pune has become infamous for lacking civic sense, and we come across such instances regularly. We cannot have police presence all the time, so it’s better that citizens should act responsibly and abide by the traffic rules and move only through their allotted road space; else, strict action must be taken against them,” Mangale adds. 

When asked about violating rules and entering footpaths to bypass traffic, a motorist, while defending the practice, says, “The footpaths have been constructed so huge in width that it has taken up almost 30-40 per cent of the road. With increasing traffic, it becomes very difficult to reach the office on time, so occasionally two-wheelers use the footpaths.” 

“The relevant authorities like PCMC, PMC and others must plan footpath-road ratio by analysing the average footfall and not just go on reducing road size arbitrarily, else such violations will continue,” he explains.