PEDESTRIAN-VEHICULAR CONFLICTS

Abstract

Pedestrian-vehicular conflicts are so commonplace and frequent that we often accept them as part and parcel of life in our compact city-state. However, the consequences of such conflicts can be so tragic that transportation planners simply cannot ignore them. The author seeks to examine the nature and seriousness of conflicts in a given shopping street in the Central Area of Singapore. Pedestrian needs on all aspects of safety, convenience and comfort are enumerated and the measures implemented to meet those needs evaluated. The study suggests that existing pedestrian facilities have not been effective in resolving pedestrian-vehicular conflicts. The urban environment has been modelled upon the needs of the vehicle, and pedestrian needs are almost invariably an after-thought, to be catered to only after adequate road facilities have been provided. As a result, ad-hoc measures implemented by the PWD and the Traffic Police have only succeeded in reducing the number of accidents, but not other pedestrian problems, such as limited accessibility, inconvenience, discomfort, etc.