Police said 13 ACPs, who are in charge of these stretches, were asked to share their plans to attain the objectives set by Lalbazar. “These solutions will be area specific. Some of the measures include switching from automatic to manual mode of traffic signals, setting up of pedestrian barriers and removing bus stands from near crossings. Subways can be set up in the long run,” said a senior cop at Lalbazar.The audit by ACPs will also include the infrastructure available at the spot. For example, sources claimed that the poor state of pavements was apparently a major reason behind pedestrians jaywalking on the high-speed EM Bypass corridor or on APC Road, which witnessed major accidents in the recent past. The cops also feel that proper footpaths and pedestrian barriers will help solve illegal parking on footpaths.Cops chose several intersections in the city to make them more pedestrian friendly. Based on the combined “reactive and proactive assessments” by police and researchers appointed by Lalbazar, there is evidence that a high pedestrian-vehicular volume ratio, absence of traffic signals, inaccessibility of the pedestrian crosswalk, absence of police personnel, high approaching speed, commercial areas, inadequate sight distance, presence of slum populations, and high population density near the intersection increase the risk of pedestrian crashes.
