It's a pleasant day. You're taking a quiet stroll till a broken pavement mars the experience. In a city of defunct streetlights, unsafe crossings and uneven footpaths, the pedestrian often gets a raw deal. However, here's an app that may come in handy for the avid walker.
Armed with it, you could find out how a street fares on the walkability index. Based on the cumulative rating of all users, you could decide if you want to walk further or not.
You can choose: Developed by Clean Air Asia about three years ago, the Walkability app went through several modifications. It was then recognized by the Karnataka Centre for e-governance and Mobilox, a startup. Although only a few users have come on board till now, Google Inc has shown interest in the app. Parthaa Bosu, India director of Clean Air Asia, said: "Google Maps has a facility to guide people to reach from point A to point B via various modes of transport, including walking. The walkability scores offered by our app will help one know the condition of the stretch. If it is bad, the user can opt for another mode."
Clean Air Asia is a not-for-profit organization that does research on environmental issues and engages with government bodies to help devise green-friendly policies.
So far, only four stretches have been audited by users in Bengaluru - Hosur Road, a lane adjacent to Queen's Road, and one each in Malleswaram and Rajajinagar. The app, which is a hit among users globally, has data from 130 cities. The Association of Municipalities and Development Authorities (AMDA) has recommended it to municipal corporations and it can be downloaded from the AMDA website.
Just not for pedestrians: Research by Clean Air Asia in 2011 ranked Bengaluru's roads as simply not walkable. The IT City scored only 46 out of 100 on the walkability index, the second lowest after Chennai's score of 40, the poorest among 15 Asian cities.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Aparajita Ray
Quelle/Source: The Times of India, 10.08.2015
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