The Strange Solutions
Mr. X. goes to a doctor. “Doctor, I’ve put on so much weight in the past 2 months, my breathing is heavy, I pant after walking short distances and my wife’s complaining that I’ve begun to snore!” The doctor summarily dismisses Mr. X with advice to either buy a pair of larger-sized trousers or loosen his belt. More than a little taken aback, Mr. X wonders if increasing the size of his trousers each time he senses them clutching at his belly would work, keeping his diet and his sedentary lifestyle the same. And didn’t he remember reading somewhere that certain hormones and glands caused unusual weight gains? Quack he decided the doctor was for giving him a temporary fix and mentally decided to get a second opinion.
Our roads, however, don’t have the luxury of a second opinion. Our government is the only “doctor” tending to them and their implementation of the enlarge-the-size-of-your-pants-plan to widen roads and build new flyovers each time there is congestion is but a quick-fix solution for a problem that needs deeper analysis. The objective should be to reduce fat - reduce traffic and not accommodate traffic by widening the size of the road. A reduction of traffic brings with it added positives – cleaner air, less noise, less stress-related disorders. Promoting public transport is a necessary tool for achieving a reduction in traffic. The Government must spend its money incentivising travel by public transport, increasing inter-connectivity of the various modes of public transport, increasing the number of trips, making them safe and “attractive” to every strata of society.
But the priority has got to be clean, safe and walkable footpaths and safe pedestrian crossings – why? Because if I’m scared to step out of my house without my car for the fear of being mowed down, chances are I will not make the short trip from my house to the bus-stand, even if it comes at the cost of forgoing the air-conditioned, cushioned, comfortable bus made available to me by a generous Government.
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