With tactile paving surfaces that are visually-impaired friendly and similar ‘friendly’ pavements, the City’s pedestrians can look forward to safer walking. But there are other not-so-friendly problems Kathmandu Walking in the Capital is a nightmare (even on footpaths) as one has to jostle with the rest of the Valley — other pedestrians plus hawkers plus cyclists and motorcyclists who do not believe footpaths are meant for those who walk; couple this up with nonexistent footpaths in many, many places, narrow roads that are in no way eligible to be called decent roads, potholes, stray animals, and you know why you are in a filthy mood most of the time. This is the general scene of the Capital’s busy footpaths, but then there are always exceptions. The Singha Durbar-Bhadrakali section of the road, Maitighar-Tinkune section, among others are some parts in Capital where one can walk  without any fear of being mowed down — by any one or any thing. These sections boost of wider roads and wide footpaths. “Wider roads and wider footpaths are the concepts of a developed city,” shares Manoj Shrestha, Project Manager of Kathmandu Valley Road Improvement Project, Baneshwor. Along with a footpath that is wide and free of all the other traffic that other footpaths of the City shoulder, the footpaths in these areas are friendly for the visually-impaired. For this the concept of tactile paving have been introduced here. These tactile surfaces provide warnings and guidance for the visually impaired. We have seen the visually-impaired moving around independently on their own with the help of just their long white cane. The cane helps them scan the ground ahead. The cane’s roller tip maintains contact with the ground helping to indicate changes in level and obstructions on the road. “There are challenges when walking on the roads,” shares Narayani Dawadi, 29, a resident of Mulpani who is visually-impaired. But she has felt a change when walking on the tactile surfaces. “It is easy to walk on. The cane makes a different sound on the surface, and as the tactile tiles are placed in lines and give us directions, it makes it easier for us to walk,” she shares. Tactile paving surfaces We may have noticed yellow and light red tiles on the footpaths of the Capital. There are various designs on the tiles — small circular shapes are carved in some, while in others there are straight lines. And many of us must have wondered on the use of such tiles. We have even asked why money was wasted on the colour of tiles used on footpaths. But these tiles have not been used to make an eye pleasing design in contrasting colours. They have been used to make walking a little easier for the visually-impaired. “These tactile paving surfaces have been placed to provide warning and guidance for the visually-impaired,” informs Shrestha. How does it help? So, now if we look at the pattern of the tactile surfaces, we will notice that two types of tiles have been used — directional and blister tiles. The four-lined surface tiles are called directional tiles, whereas the six-dome tiles are called blistered tiles. “These directional tiles give direction, while the blister tiles give a warning to the visually-impaired like an obstruction ahead or the end of the tactile paving surface is ahead,” shares Shrestha. Blister tiles are also used to locate the start and end points on the pavements. The directional tiles are painted yellow as it is the common colour used worldwide for tactile paving. Yellow is also used to provide secondary warning to those with poor vision. However, one can see a colour difference in blister tiles. Tiles in red are used at places. “This variation can occur as there are multiple contractors working on various road sections. But the colour does not create any problem here,” adds Shrestha. The visually-impaired can hear sounds when they tap their canes on these tiles and can locate the direction as tiles are used accordingly. However, there seems to be a lack of information of the tactile paving surface among the targeted group. “Though I walk every day, I do not know about tactile paving,” shares Laxmi Nepal, a visually-impaired 24-year-old resident of Balkot. “We too haven’t heard in detail about the tactile surfaces in our group. We are alert but we have had no information about the same. No such discussions have happened in our group,” shares Sristi KC, Founder of Blind Rocks, an organisation working for the visually-impaired. ‘Friendly’ footpaths To aid the visually-impaired in their mobility, there are plans to have tactile paving surfaces in and around the City. “As we are extending the roads — Gaushala-Tinkune, Lagankhel-Satdobato, Budanilkantha-Bishnumati, Bishnumati Corridor (from Balaju Bridge to Dallu Bridge), Chabahil-Sankhu, there are plans to extend the footpaths too. And when these footpaths are extended, they will be made visually-impaired-friendly,” informs Shrestha. There are also similar plans for Bhaisepati-Nakkhu, Karmanasha-Harisiddhi, Imadol-Godavari sections among others, as per Shrestha. Apart from tactile paving surfaces, a model of disabled-friendly footpath has also been constructed for those using wheelchairs. “The wheelchair-friendly footpath has been constructed near Khagendra Navajeevan Kendra, Jorpati. The length of the footpath is just 50 metres as of now as it is just a model,” informs Shrestha. “And to make such wide footpaths (of four to five metres), we need a lot of space,” adds Shrestha. What is lacking? Lack of budget and mutual cooperation among authorities working for public utilities such as water, electricity, communication are some of the problems faced during road expansion work, as per Sailendra Sharma, Engineer at Kathmandu Valley Road Improvement Project. “We have been working hard to make all authorities concerned cooperate,” Sharma adds. Lack of space is one of the hindering factors in road expansion,” shares Dharmendra Kumar Jha, Division Chief at Division Road Office, Kathmandu 1, Minbhawan. Lack of public support is another problem, he lists. Footpaths are constructed according to the mobility of pedestrians per minute. According to the demand of the changing population and road expansion projects, footpaths too have been expanded and made ‘friendly’, as per Jha. Cycle track Along with friendly footpaths, cycle tracks have also been built. Cycle tracks from Maitighar to Tinkune (2.7 km) and Jadibuti to Pepsicola (2.2 km) and in the Ring Road-Chabahil Airport road section (1.5 km) have been constructed for cyclists. But it is also equally important to monitor the condition of the tactile paving surfaces, cycle tracks and wheelchair-friendly footpaths. Damaged tiles and blocks should be replaced as part of maintenance programme. “We monitor the paths and maintain them as per the need,” informs Shrestha. Game of encroachment Every good deed needs some kind of a bashing. So, these ‘friendly’ footpaths and cycle tracks are of course encroached upon by street vendors. And these wide footpaths have now also become another ‘parking lot’. “Kathmandu Metropolitan City Office should give proper space for parking,” suggests Jha. There are trees on the footpaths too. “We don’t cut the trees unless it affects traffic mobility. Similar is the case with temples,” Sharma adds. “We feel happy to see the expansion of our roads, but when we see the encroachment happening, we feel bad,” shares Sharma. “We build the roads, but it is duty of the Traffic Police to control encroachments,” opine Shrestha and Sharma.