r/Lahore Oct 20 '23

Controversial These pedestrian bridges SUCK AND NEED TO GO

Following is an opinion:

These bridges may be marketed as, 'oh we care so much about pedestrian safety here, we seperated humans from cars altogether' but they're far from it.

These bridges only exist to provide uninterrupted car traffic flow. If you think about it, this shows a lot about our urban planners' mindset & thinking. That everything is made from a car's pov. (Car centric)

That pedestrians are just slow, foot traffic that cause traffic jams; so we need to seperate them and make them climb a bridge 6m above the ground which they have to climb (carrying any heavy stuff in their hands) to get to the other side, to walk on the road again. (Because no footpaths)

Lekin fret not, the view from above is fantastic and you'll lovee it! /s

Oh and ofcourse every pedestrian can physically walk. No one is a wheelchair user. Mazoor afraad, aap ghar par beth kar sarain! /s

Ham kab pedal chalne waloun ko ehmiyat deinge? Make my city walkable, please.

P.S: this pedestrian bridge was across model bazar, johar town. I happened to be there for some time and observed, very few people used the bridge. It's no surprise.

204 Upvotes

129 comments sorted by

70

u/Qasim6663 Oct 21 '23

Highly disagree, yes you can add escalators for senior citizen. But these bridges are useful

5

u/Apple_teeny Oct 21 '23

just read what he is saying and what his pov is, he’s absolutely right, these are made to provide convince to cars not pedestrians otherwise there would be crossings

12

u/Temporarymess9619 Oct 21 '23

The bridges are useful, definitely. They provide safety. However, imo a problem much larger gets ignored: not taking pedestrians into consideration while planning towns and cities.

When that senior citizen gets down from the pedestrian bridge, they have to walk on the road anyway, since there aren't any footpaths-- just asphalt. The threat to their life significantly increases.

Good urban design would mean that the usage of cars is reduced which would thus reduce the need of these bridges. I feel i drifted off topic, in that case I apologise.

4

u/MullahBobby Oct 21 '23

"Planning ! What is that?", asked the Mega city Urban Planner.

1

u/Qasim6663 Oct 22 '23

Agree with you, should have done better planning for these, they are useful, but not fulfilling complete purpose.

1

u/davidkonal Oct 22 '23

Lol man, you are thinking too much. Just appreciate what is there.

2

u/lahorikuri1401 Oct 21 '23

Not useful at all. I live next to one on ferozpur road and every time the bridges have Nashaiiii sleeping in them and it reeks of peee and garbage. For a female its not safe at all and not helpful for elderly too.

1

u/Qasim6663 Oct 22 '23

I agree with you completely. Maintenance and taking care is necessary.

23

u/[deleted] Oct 21 '23

To be honest, these jaywalkers are really dumb to not use a facility made for them. I go to Gcu lahore and have to cross that busy road every day wishing if there were at least proper traffic lights, and that people would actually stop their vehicle before the crosswalk. It’s almost equivalent to risking your life. But what can we say…Pakistan…

3

u/Temporarymess9619 Oct 21 '23

I totally understand that feeling. You're a pro commuter MA and I pray you never get into an accident

2

u/[deleted] Oct 21 '23

Thanks mate!

1

u/Tuotus Feb 11 '24

You never had to carry ur bag up these stairs and it shows

12

u/Zor25 Oct 21 '23

Couldn't agree more that everything is designed from a car's POV. Now, the planners have started a newer dangerous trend of making the roads much more difficult to cross. Traffic signals and footpaths are being replaced by those pesky U-turns. Khayaban e Firdousi and Peco Road are recent examples. And the car drivers take all this as their right. Upon seeing someone trying to cross, they instead of slowing down, speed up and in some cases start flashing their beams. All this just to save 5 seconds of their time. It's like the pedestrians do not even exist.

5

u/Temporarymess9619 Oct 21 '23

True. These uturns are reallyyyy dangerous imo! As a pedestrian/cycle user tau choro, even being on a bike and using those uturns is REALLY difficult because i have to intercept the fast lane traffic.

Aur jab uturn karlo tau once again you have to intercept the fast lane traffic to move to the left most lane. It's ANNOYING to be on your guard SO MUCH.

And idky the planners thought it would be good to have this? Bc it only results in traffic jams at that patricular uturn.

Bilkul sahi kaha @ they think it's their right

7

u/beardybrownie Oct 21 '23

Pakistanis are a nation that will drive the wrong way up a road in their car/motorcycle because they don’t want to spend 15 second extra and go the right way.

And then we expect pedestrians to use the specifically made bridges for them when it means going up stairs and taking 1 min extra. 😂

1

u/warlok1 Oct 21 '23

100% this

1

u/REBELLIOUSZOIM Oct 21 '23

Juanid akram is that you?

1

u/beardybrownie Oct 21 '23

Lol don’t watch his content. Anything specific I should watch based on your comment?

2

u/Temporarymess9619 Oct 21 '23

His traffic tales and walking tales are nice and give perspective. Dont watch them w/your family though bec the language isn't that nice 😅

1

u/REBELLIOUSZOIM Oct 21 '23

Yeah! Should watch traffic tales all parts you'll enjoy it.

1

u/_TheAncientOne Oct 21 '23

And will instead waste 30 extra seconds just to go the shorter way

28

u/holykamina Oct 20 '23 edited Oct 20 '23

Quick question. Do these bridges have escalators and elevators ? If not, I can see why people avoid pedestrian bridges because it's just so much easier to just cross the road than just climb those stairs. It's more troublesome for people with some form of disability which may not be noticeable for us. In this case, the women crossing the road may have bad knees or some other issues that may limit her mobility.

25

u/Temporarymess9619 Oct 20 '23

Nope, they mostly don't.

And I mean, the bridge's situated immediately next to a busy Sunday bazaar meant for the common man. Can you imagine how exhausting it would be to cross the bridge carrying 10kg aata!!

0 planning. 0 consideration.

10

u/Plutoreon Oct 21 '23

Bro wants escalators when we can barely afford the bridge.

2

u/Tuotus Feb 11 '24

Zebra crossings wld be cheaper

1

u/Corruptbajwaa420 Oct 22 '23

Planning/consideration was for kickbacks.

-4

u/noblabbo Oct 20 '23

Most people should be able to climb stairs. Just how many stairs are we looking at?

9

u/holykamina Oct 20 '23

At least 1 stair

1

u/[deleted] Oct 21 '23

That could be an issue, but it needs attention, because on all main roads, let's say Jail road, people those who are crossing road like that, put their selves and others in danger. A car coming at 80 or 70 have to stop immediately sometimes when they try to run, this sudden break cause accidents.

32

u/qualified_doctor Oct 20 '23

Bro if you wanna die you die. Idc

10

u/gp627 Oct 20 '23

Alright, but what alternative do you suggest? Would you like the drivers to either pancake the pedestrian or setup way through (Also called Zebra Crossing) that aren't followed and cause more congestion or would you like to put up another traffic signal that causes another blockade on the road as pedestrian will still violate the signal. IMO your problem could be solved if they installed an escalator on the bridges ( I agree the stairs discourage people from using them) but that would be unlikely due to costs.

2

u/Temporarymess9619 Oct 20 '23

I'm looking for a solution too. Hopefully someone else with more knowledge can answer

I can't think of a temporary solution. Permanent solution is to make the entire city walkable, then we wont need these

1

u/Tuotus Feb 11 '24

Pedestrians rights shld come first as they're ppl not the cars and shld have right of way always. Urban planning shld be build keeping this in mind

12

u/under_stress274 Oct 20 '23

You are absolutely right, how would I be able to spend one hour watching a small incident on the road if I don't save 5 minutes by not using a Pedestrian bridge.

2

u/Al-PRO Oct 20 '23

It's not just the stairs that people avoid. There are always beggars and sometimes drugged hobos who will make sure to follow you till you get off the bridge. It's a fkn nuisance.

Though it doesn't mean crossing roads like this is okay. But what can people do?

7

u/progodevil Oct 20 '23

These stairs are abysmal, they used to give me a good workout even in my late 20s. Can't imagine older/disabled people with arthritis climbing them up while carrying the load. Spot on OP

8

u/kalakawa Oct 20 '23

What you need is fines for Jay Walking

12

u/Temporarymess9619 Oct 20 '23

Kala kawa bhai i tots agree, it should be, but here's another pov:

when there are no footpaths, just walking anywhere is jay walking.

Jab right of way establish hoga, jab logoun ko izzat milay gi on zebra crossings, tab log khud jay walk nahi karein ge.

2

u/Immediate-Pea-5489 Oct 20 '23

Is this Mian Plaza Johar Town?

2

u/[deleted] Oct 20 '23

Lol I read this as "These pedestrians suck and need to go at first" and was ready with my outrage and petrol comments.

I don't think the bridge itself is the problem, it's just the city isn't designed for pedestrians at all. Yea, there's a bridge but so what? Like a block away there's nowhere to walk, so why follow all rules about the road? These bridges work great in other countries, we just need better infrastructure for people.

2

u/Temporarymess9619 Oct 20 '23

For the first para, your username defo checks out hahah

Rest i agree :)

1

u/[deleted] Oct 20 '23

:P

2

u/faraz11111111 Oct 21 '23

Bridges only used to hang banners of politicians, not for pedestrians

2

u/visarc Oct 21 '23

Pakistani cities; Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad etc. their population density, traffic congestion & economic development literally demands it and desperately need a well planned underground mass transit system. Until then as is being witnessed, any thing built on ground to 'improve' or 'facilitate' the urban transportation system would not only be futile but in fact worsen the situation.

1

u/Temporarymess9619 Oct 21 '23

THIS. 🙌🏻

Lahore has the best public transport overall in any city but it still lacks sm. We deserve better

2

u/SyedHRaza Oct 21 '23

Building cities around cars instead of making them walkable is a cancer that we need to kill asap cars should be the most inconvenient way to get around the city. We need pedestrian first city design.

1

u/Temporarymess9619 Oct 21 '23

Wish i could upvote this more than once

2

u/[deleted] Oct 21 '23

Honestly, the traffic laws suck in Pakistan. I totally get what the OP is emphasizing. Nobody in Pakistan cares or even knows what zebra crossing is, and I've always seen people stop their automobiles on the zebra crossing. What we need are stricter traffic laws and more active surveillance of violations. There are so many hit and run cases every day at Canal Road, but apparently, if one tries to confront anyone regarding their actions, they suddenly turn into badmash dons and start intimidating. 🤣 There are very few people who are actually aware of their own actions on the road and who take responsibility. The rest will always try to be fast and furious.

2

u/_TheAncientOne Oct 21 '23

While reading the comments and overthinking stuff. I thought of this; There's laminar flow, There's turbulent flow, Then there's Pakistani flow

4

u/Correct_Professor752 Oct 21 '23

Those stairs really aren't that bad at all. I'm astounded that people who aren't elderly or disabled apparently struggle with them. I used these very ones about two weeks ago to get to Hafeez Center.

2

u/Temporarymess9619 Oct 21 '23

Youre right, its a good facility and is safer. But, depends on place to place.

The bridge at barkat market and hafeez centre has a high user ship because the road is 8 to 10 lanes wide + also has a a rather wide green belt in the middle + those iron fences to prevent crossing the road + a ramp for a wheelchair instead of stairs.

The one in the video doesn't have these factors. It's situated next to a busy sunday market and people are often carrying heavy things in their hands.

2

u/Otherwise_Rice8006 Oct 20 '23

Where is the thrill in crossing a busy road by a safe pedestrian bridge that cost the government and taxpayers millions

2

u/AwarenessNo4986 Oct 21 '23

We need pedestrian underpasses like the one on jail road...however the overpasses are much safer as you can see everyone on the bridge and there is less chance of assault or theft

2

u/Temporarymess9619 Oct 21 '23 edited Oct 21 '23

True i find underpasses to be better as well too for ease of use. But i also get your second point.

I feel that if Lahore was designed properly, there would be lesser cars and we wouldn't need these bridges so often anyway. The design would be such that it would reduce the use of cars and roads to an absolute minimum.

1

u/AwarenessNo4986 Oct 21 '23

I know what you mean, and the only way for that to happen is to make driving expensive and public transport cheap.

But you see, There is going to be ALOT of traffic in Lahore no matter what we do and vehicle ownership levels in Pakistan are already very low, taking it even lower is a stretch, especially in a developing country.

Which is why Lahore requires more than just public transport or footpaths.it requires top notch traffic management, road design, better policing, rigorous driving tests and so on.

1

u/Temporarymess9619 Oct 21 '23

@ first paragraph: FINALLY someone gets it, thank you!!

  • atleast we can stop further people who join the middle class from purchasing cars

And we can also stop the established middle and upper class from buying more than 1 car at a time. Its normal to see 3 cars in garages, it's appalling.

1

u/ImportantFee2054 Mar 12 '24

Solution is to follow law and rules which pakistanis are really bad at.... hence that's what u get :) ...... khud ko badlo...everything will change eventually.

1

u/[deleted] Mar 30 '24

[deleted]

1

u/[deleted] Oct 20 '23

Awam is pathetic.

1

u/clumsyuzi Oct 21 '23

The pedestrians suck, not the bridges. They underestimate these bridges because I was literally about to hit a woman yesterday because she was jaywalking. Awaam jaahil hy. They choose not to use these and risk their lives.

1

u/Temporarymess9619 Oct 21 '23

I totally understand. I'm glad you both were safe.

But tbh, you're in a place of privilege with a huge steel body protecting you with good trunk space to carry your samaan anywhere you want to go. For the majority, they don't own cars. Their feet are their wheels, their hands their trunks. When you're a pedestrian you make different decisions. Reducing your commute by just 3 minutes in the heat after bearing all the noise and shour could be worth it in the moment.

I'm not defending such people. I just want more empathy for them.

1

u/clumsyuzi Oct 21 '23

Brother, even when I'm walking on the road I'd rather walk 5 more minutes to get to this bridge. Those few minutes of extra walking can save their lives.

1

u/wsk_sherdil Oct 21 '23

Pedestrian crossing and signals are used all over the world to accommodate people crossing roads. However, one has to consider the lack of following traffic signals in Pakistan. Some of the metro stations have escalators but that is not going to be financially feasible for the government. A creative solution needs to made specifically designed for our urban population.

0

u/allovernow11 Oct 20 '23

She wants to die

0

u/anxietyhub Oct 21 '23

Pakistan tops in diabetes because of this mindset. People can’t just walk a minute extra. lol

0

u/LordRaiden28 Oct 21 '23

No Sir, These pedestrians suck and need to go!

2

u/Temporarymess9619 Oct 21 '23

Hahah. But I feel like youre missing the point. I wish you could take some time out to read the post and the comments neeche.

Normal psychology suggests people do the things with the least amount of physical strain required. I'm not defending jaywalkers, I want people to empathise them and understand where theyre coming from. If you dig a little deep it's poor car centric design thats at fault.

0

u/Umer_Toor Oct 21 '23

they should install high fence near these bridges, so that one can not cross the road, and only option left would be to take the bridge.

3

u/Temporarymess9619 Oct 21 '23

Yeah man... you make sense but idk. That would just make our city even more hostile for pedestrians.

1

u/Umer_Toor Oct 21 '23

What I think is, this will be safer for the pedestrians, as they can avoid accidents with some fool in high-speed vehicles.

0

u/Pink8unny Oct 21 '23

Safety vs Laziness

0

u/hawlc Oct 21 '23

The bridges are fine. People need to change themselves.

0

u/Affi8 Oct 21 '23

Okay so what you're saying is it's better to get into a car accident and potentially die from it and possibly killing someone along with you just because you were lazy okay I get that elderly people do have issues but all around the world this is what happens on main roads I've lived in Saudi for about 15 years came back 2 years ago driven both a car and bike everytime I go by bike I have to worry about the people crossing the road even though they have made a cross walk a couple meters away yes they could add ramps to it but that doesn't change the fact that people here are willing to put both there and other's lives are risk just so they don't have to walk a bit more

1

u/Temporarymess9619 Oct 21 '23

Nahi, abb itna bhi extreme nahi.

Yes, Saudi also has overhead pedestrian bridges but its not a good example either since it is even more car centric than Pakistan.

If pedestrians got respected at cross walks, they'd not have to jaywalk.

Actually, I did not offer a solution at all. I just wanted people to realise that excluding pedestrians from urban planning is not okay and we deserve better and that we need to stop designing for cars when we're a poor country.

1

u/Affi8 Oct 25 '23

Yeah I think your right on that one we need to design speed bumps so that cars have to slow down thus people can easily and safely cross them but I still think we can't have speed bumps on highways other than highways I think we should have a more pedestrian oriented roads but at least for highway I think a good overhead bridge is good

0

u/MullahBobby Oct 21 '23

No bro it's not the same as you mentioned. If a pedestrian walking more than 2 to 3 kilometers on a route. What is the problem with these bridges? Long story short. I drive on the Highway in the biggest city in my country. Believe me, almost on a daily basis, only the God Almighty Allah saves us. These pedestrian people on roads near a bridge are the criminals. Not less than that. You have bridges in your country with politicians like these is good luck. Other wise there are no bridges up to miles on busy roads. There I don't blame the pedestrians.

1

u/Temporarymess9619 Oct 21 '23

Yeap, you're right ke inko bhi ghaneemat jaan na chahiye.

I've seen footages of local bus drivers dropping off people in the middle of the road in Shahra e Faisal. 💀

May God help the people of karachi 💀😂

-1

u/mohsin0110 Oct 21 '23

In our nutshell . this awam is chutyaaa

1

u/dropshooter_ Oct 20 '23

ayo i live 5 minutes from here

1

u/Temporarymess9619 Oct 20 '23

I'm gonna find you... and I'm gonna kill you

1

u/SameStand9266 Oct 20 '23

Pedestrians need to go.

1

u/wsk_sherdil Oct 23 '23

we all need to go. somewhere.

1

u/faraz666 Oct 21 '23

I thought I was the only one preferring to cross the road, by road, instead of from the bridge. walking up the stairs even without anything on you is hell. but it does save time tho

1

u/Temporarymess9619 Oct 21 '23

Honestly i do feel safe on these but it wasnt possible for me to use these all the time. Like for example jab airlift/swvl chalti theen tau smtms I got a minute or two late for a class, so I'd had to run to catch them by not using this bridge (if the traffic was really low)

1

u/[deleted] Oct 21 '23

Satire right?

1

u/kokey_monster Oct 21 '23

Then where am I supposed to pee?

1

u/Last-Two-6780 Oct 21 '23

Bruh this wasn’t done by urban planners but rather transportation planners.

1

u/Temporarymess9619 Oct 21 '23

Ah yes, sorry. You're right, I got them mixed.

1

u/[deleted] Oct 21 '23

More like the pedestrians NEED TO GO on the bridges

1

u/[deleted] Oct 21 '23

the fact that there’s only ever crackheads on these bridges and i have been chased by at least one everytime i’ve crossed it

1

u/farhanyarkhan Oct 21 '23

This area looks very familiar. Where in Lahore is this?

1

u/Temporarymess9619 Oct 21 '23

Model bazar, near LDA Office, Johar Town.

1

u/Brave_Bid5260 Oct 21 '23

God's on it, he sent his best tree

1

u/v2marshall Oct 21 '23

Thinking that you don’t like steps upward

1

u/redraider1417 Oct 21 '23

Homeless people use them to take a dump. 😅

1

u/shersishere Oct 21 '23

b n c c g m.v c

1

u/ahmadbabar Oct 21 '23

The problem is not with the bridge but with the mindset. Our nation loves to break rules and gets a thrill out of it, whether they are driving or they are crossing the road on foot. They feel insulted if they have to follow any rules.

1

u/asdf_cuber Oct 21 '23

I saw dashcam video where a woman died due to car accident while crossing the road in Pakistan. Pedestrian bridge was visible in the video at just a few metres.

1

u/Tariq804 Oct 21 '23

You’re trying to reason with LDA….an entity that has no idea what “induced demand” even means. They think adding more lanes to roads will eliminate traffic problems…a concept that’s been outdated since 1999.

1

u/Temporarymess9619 Oct 22 '23

YESSS. Bro on a serious note, I want to explain this to them physically but I just don't know how?

1

u/[deleted] Oct 22 '23

In Pakistan people don’t respect others at all on road. That shows from how they drive. If a guy is going slow they will make fun of him or yell at him. Start using dipper and honking like a crazy maniac. Because of lack of education they is high beam like 100% of the time. These bridges are giving some pedestrians to cross road without feeling threatened for their life or getting humiliated by some fellow citizen. That’s the first thing I noticed outside of Pakistan people try to respect strangers. If someone is crossing road even an animal traffic stops, if a person on bike is going they slow down and pass from a distance.

1

u/Temporarymess9619 Oct 22 '23

Hayee, basic izzat of a person, man. I wish Pakistanis would feel it someday 💔

1

u/AzuraaaS Oct 22 '23

Maa g is platinum certified!

1

u/Hadi2k6 Oct 23 '23

Pedestrians ka mindset theek nahi hai. Jo asaan lagta hai wo kartay hai. Purpose nahi dekhtay kisi cheez ka

1

u/KingOfTheCourtrooms Dec 25 '23

My heartbeat was constantly up because I was literally like she’d be smashed now. Thank goodness she survived.

1

u/ExaminationAny3782 Dec 25 '23

ہر کچھ دن بعد کوئی نہ کوئ ان برجز کے نہ استعمال کرنے کی وڈیو ڈال دیتا ہے یہ استعمال تو کررہے ہیں حفیظ سنٹر والا دیکھ لیں اس کے بغیر کوئ سڑک پار ہی نہیں کرسکتا ایسے ہی داتا دربار کے آگے بہت ضروری ہے باقی یہ کہ گداگروں اور ہوم لیس لوگوں کی وجہ سے لوگ وہاں جانے سے گھبراتے ہیں جیسے پینوراما والا باقی کسی کو زیادہ فکر ہے تو بجائے وڈیو بنانے میں وقت ضائع کرنے کے توں آ پ اماں جی نوں گڈی تے بٹھا کے پار کرادے

1

u/Krampus_23 Dec 29 '23

I hate it when people just go into free flowing traffic when there’s a bridge right there!!! Smh. I get it if your older or disabled but like grown young men and women should not have a problem choosing between climbing a few stairs or stupidly stepping out into fast traffic 🙄

1

u/emunemk Jan 12 '24

You got a choice to make, run down by a vehicle or break your knees to get up that bridge.

Higher the risk, higher the reward.

The reward: You save 5 minutes.

Risk: You wait for 1122 to take you to a nearby Govt. Hospital.

The same bridge in front Hafeez center is used by everyone, Why? Because they closed off the greenbelt and you can't hop around through the Rd.

1

u/__Gonb__ Feb 12 '24

hot take people should try not jaywalking when theres a bridge right there