[Urbanstudy] Tendersure roads aren't disabled-friendly, says Bengaluru group

[Vinay Baindur]

http://www.thenewsminute.com/article/tendersure-roads-arent-disabled-friendly-says-bengaluru-group-32822






*Tendersure roads aren't disabled-friendly, says Bengaluru group*
<http://www.thenewsminute.com/article/tendersure-roads-arent-disabled-friendly-says-bengaluru-group-32822>
Karnataka <http://www.thenewsminute.com/inner-page/Karnataka>TNM Staff
<http://www.thenewsminute.com/author-articles/TNM-Staff> | Saturday, August
1, 2015 - 19:38
Forum for Urban Commons and Governance



The newly inaugurated St. Marks Road in Bengaluru does not meet global
standards for accessibility to the disabled, according to an access audit
conducted by the Forum for Urban Commons and Governance.

Addressing a press conference in the city on Saturday, members of the forum
said that although the roads were touted as “world class” and crores of
rupees spent on building them, international standards for
disabled-friendly roads had not been incorporated into the design of the
TenderSURE roads.

TenderSURE (Specifications for Urban Roads Execution) road design was
developed <http://www.janaagraha.org/q3report2013-14/urbandesign.html> by
Swati Ramanathan of the Jana Urban Space Foundation and Bangalore City
Connect. The government of Karnataka cleared the project in September 2011.
In June the first road completed under the project – St. Marks Road – was
officially declared open to the public.

Members of the forum which conducted the audit said that on several counts
St. Marks Road was not disabled-friendly – especially for wheelchair users,
visually impaired persons and those using crutches.

Reshma of the forum said: “The idea of a world-class road should be to
consider the needs of all types of road users, including the disabled. They
should be able to move about independently without assistance from
passersby. Tendersure roads are called world-class roads and crores of
rupees have been spent but disabled people can’t use the roads with ease.”

The News Minute made several attempts to contact Swati Ramanathan, but she
declined to comment.

According to the forum, some problems with the design that cause
difficulties to disabled people are:

The incline of the ramps connecting the road to the footpath is
unscientific and too steep. It does not conform to United Nations
guidelines of the 1:12 ration, meaning that for every 1 inch increase in
height, 12 inches of ramp should be provided. This could cause the
wheelchair to topple.

The ramp also does not smoothly connect with the road in some places, there
is often a gap of an inch or so height. This makes it difficult for
wheelchair users to go about independently.

In many places, the bollards placed on the footpath impede the movement of
wheelchair users and other disabled persons, forcing them to go around the
manholes, construction debris, loose concrete slabs or cables left lying on
the road.

The bollards are placed in such a manner that space for a wheelchair is
provided at one end (not the side close to the carriageway) of the
footpath. This space too, is not enough for all wheelchairs as some are
much broader depending on the frame of each disabled person. In many
instances, the close location of the wheelchair path to the wall means that
more space is eaten up by loose cables stuck to the walls or other
protruding structures.

The forums also raised concerns about no parking spots reserved for the
disabled and sirens to indicate when it is safe for the visually impaired
persons to cross the road. Sirens for the visually impaired are sounded at
many traffic signals across the city.

Krishna Kumar said: "The existing road can't be changed, but at least
consider our needs for the ones that are coming up."
- See more at:
http://www.thenewsminute.com/article/tendersure-roads-arent-disabled-friendly-says-bengaluru-group-32822#sthash.mnMQ3Tpr.dpuf
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