Making Dhaka more livable

Ridwan Quaium
DHAKA has been rated as the most unlivable city on the planet. One of the main reasons for that is the lack of spacious sidewalks
and open public spaces. According to WHO, about 40% of the victims of road accidents in Bangladesh are pedestrians.
More than 20% of the people in the capital commute by walking. Most of the sidewalks are in a dire state mainly due to lack of
proper maintenance. Sidewalks occupied by illegal makeshift shops and illegal settlements are a common scene throughout the city.
To make matters worse, motorcyclists have recently started using them, posing a serious safety threat to the pedestrians. As a result,
pedestrians are often forced to leave the sidewalks and use the road space, running the risk of getting hit or run over.
The few open public spaces, which are mainly parks, are also in a miserable condition due to lack of maintenance. They are occupied
by illegal slums in which drug dealing and other illegal activities are carried out. Many people in the city have stopped going to the
parks as they are also a prime location for crimes. Illegal settlements have to be removed and the parks need to be maintained
regularly to improve the quality of open public space in the city.
To improve the quality of living of their residents, many cities around the world are reshaping their urban structure to make them
more pedestrian friendly by constructing spacious and continuous network of sidewalks. To relieve traffic congestion and reduce
road accidents, and at the same time to enhance open public space, some cities have even banned motorised vehicles from the city
centre.
Making the city more pedestrian friendly and improving the quality of open public space can be ways to enhance the livability of
Dhaka. This can be done through constructing a spacious, clean, unobstructed network of sidewalks throughout the city as it will
encourage more people to walk, thereby reducing demand on the roads, which in turn will reduce traffic congestion and air
pollution. In addition, the safe pedestrian environment will also help to reduce pedestrian casualties.
To relieve traffic congestion in the city centre, the city authority may also consider banning personal vehicles from the city centre
and converting some of the traffic lanes to sidewalks and bicycle lanes. This will give Dhaka a trendier and modern image and most
importantly relieve it from the stigma of being the worst city to live in on the planet.
The writer is a transportation engineer in Thailand.

Published: 12:00 am Saturday, March 15, 2014