| | The rapid growth in motor vehicle ownership and
activity in India is causing a wide range of serious
health, environmental, socio-economic, and
resource use impacts, even as it provides mobility
to millions, and contributes to employment and the
economy. The loss of accessibility for pedestrians is
one of the most important of these negative impacts,
which remains neglected by policy.
Urban transport planning is fundamentally about
moral and political choices – about what kind
of cities we want for ourselves and our future
generations, whether urban space is primarily for
people or motor vehicles, and what we owe each
other. While motor vehicles play a vitally important
role, as do planning and infrastructure for them,
and technological measures to mitigate their
impacts, an urban transport policy that focuses on
these measures to the exclusion of infrastructure for
walking and other non-motorised modes is likely
to prove futile, even counter-productive. There is,
therefore, an urgent need for an integrated approach
that addresses multiple impacts, caters to multiple
modes and road users, and is sensitive to the needs,
capabilities and constraints in the Indian context.
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