The vanishing zebra crossings, even on the main roads of Lahore, make obvious the lack of importance given to the rights of pedestrians in the city.
The zebra crossings seem to be disappearing in the city as the government completely ignores a vital tool used around the world to minimise roadside pedestrian accidents. The zebra crossings on almost all major roads and around schools, colleges and universities and business centers have been fading away. All the major roads, including the Ferozpur Road, Jail Road, Mall Road, Ravi Road, Main Boulevard Garden Town and the Main Boulevard Gulberg, have been suffering from the problem equally.
The maintenance of zebra crossings partially falls in the hands of the City District Government Lahore (CDGL), which is assisted by the Lahore Traffic Department. Although the culture of zebra crossing is being transformed by the use of overhead bridges, the spots where zebra crossings are still pertinent and need to be visible reflect the lack of interest of the district administration is in this regard.
The Jail Road serves as the prime example of fading zebra crossings, despite the road being lined by several educational institutions, offices, restaurants, hospitals and pharmacies. There are approximately eight crossings on the road, however unfortunately none of the junctions have a visible zebra crossing strip. A large number of students from the Kinnard College, Lahore College for Women University, Apwa College and the Services Institute of Medical Sciences use the road daily, where the probability of them meeting accidents is very high. According to the Rescue 1122 officials, the Jail Road and the Ferozpur Road, being the busiest roads of the city, are the grounds for several major and minor accidents during a day. “The pedestrian accidents are usually minor, but they can be very severe at times,” a 1122 official said.
Traffic Warden Rizwan, standing near a signal on the Mall Road, admitted that it was partially the responsibility of the traffic officials like him, who were supposed to report the fading of a zebra crossing. “Yes we do report such spots, but frankly the city is going through a major traffic crisis, we have bigger problems on ground,” he added. The Traffic Department spokesman confirmed that they notify the problem but it was up to the Traffic Engineering and Planning Authority (TEPA) to ensure the maintenance. The TEPA officials chose to remain silent on the issue as none of the officials that were contacted spoke about the ongoing situation.
According to a research, the zebra crossings have been found to reduce the pedestrian crashes by 80 percent. A zebra crossing, also known as “crosswalks”, is an area specified on the roads for the pedestrians to cross the road. The zebra crossings are usually white diagonal stripes on the road and were first used in the UK, from where their use spread around the world.
