Two Sundays ago, my husband and I crossed the road between Amcorp Mall and the Taman Jaya LRT station in Petaling Jaya after our morning run, only to be honked by a luxury car mid-way.
The road was otherwise empty, save for the single black vehicle, and we were sure he had to be somewhere fast with such rush on a laidback day.
But, that wasn’t my first unpleasant brush as a pedestrian with a motorist, and it sure won’t be my last. A few years ago, when I represented Media Prima for the KL Rat Race, I was nearly brushed by a speeding motorcyclist along Jalan Raja Chulan, despite the road being partially closed for the event.
And, in the 2012 edition of the Standard Chartered Kuala Lumpur Marathon, where I ran the 21km route, some roads were only partially closed, resulting in runners running too close to motor vehicles.
All I wished for while I was completing the course was that no car would accidentally swerve into the runners’ lane. That would be tragic. But, with only orange plastic blocks separating vehicles from runners, the probability was high.
One time, in Lucky Garden, Bangsar, a lady driver even raised her right hand at me as a gesture of thank you for not crossing the road and letting her go first.
Kuala Lumpur is many things, but one thing it is not, is pedestrian-friendly. In fact, for someone who doesn’t drive, I find the degree of disrespect towards pedestrians a stark contrast to the attention given to repairing roads so cars can move smoothly.
COVERING UP
Earlier this month, KL City Hall announced that it had set a target that by 2017, the city would be free of potholes, which would be achieved through the appointment of 24 contractors for road resurfacing tasks.
Bernama reported that according to last year’s statistics, 13,612 potholed roads were resurfaced and in January this year alone, 1,153 potholed roads had to be repaired.
In fact, RM100 million has been allocated from City Hall’s budget this year to manage roads and drainage in Kuala Lumpur. But, nothing was said about maintaining sidewalks to make them pedestrian-friendly.
Depending on where you are, the sidewalk situation in the city is dire and unpretty. Broken cobblestones, caved-in areas and overgrown tree roots that have moved the tiles — a situation that falls into disrepair over the years — causing pedestrians distress.
Some sidewalks are made of cobblestones and others of tarmac. Each stretch of road has a different elevation, making it impossible to walk in comfort without tripping or falling.
If an able-bodied adult needs to do impromptu balancing acts on sidewalks only to make it to the office, I cannot imagine how the elderly and the disabled must feel if they have to navigate the city’s sidewalks.
And let’s not even talk about the lack of pedestrian crossing in the city. In many instances, pedestrians have to time their crossing and pace their walk carefully to make sure that they get to the other side in one piece.
Granted, some people simply find the fastest spot to cross the road, which could be a potential danger. But, I think this happens because the city doesn’t have enough pedestrian crossings and you don’t know how far you have to walk before a crossing can be found.
An acquaintance who lives in Manhattan was very impressed the first time he came to the city.
“You all have amazing timing when it comes to crossing roads,” he said.
THE IMPORTANCE OF WALKING
I stress on making the city pedestrian-friendly because walking is better for health than driving, yet due to countless reasons, we get around by sitting in a tin can instead of getting up and moving.
In a 2013 research published in the American Heart Association journal, Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology, walking is
associated with a reduction of the risk of heart disease by 9.3 per cent compared with 4.5 per cent by running.
The risk of first-time high blood pressure was also reduced by 7.2 per cent by walking, compared with 4.2 per cent by running.
Last year, American cardiologist James O’Keefe published a research in the Journal of the American
College of Cardiology, which revealed that instead of running, we should be moving at a gentler pace, like brisk walking, for 1 to 2½ hours every week to keep ourselves healthy.
This, according to the researchers, lowers the risk of death by 25 per cent.
“If your goal is exercising for overall health and to improve your longevity, then walking is ideal,” O’Keefe said.
So, for everyone who is hard-pressed to schedule an hour daily for exercise, I would suggest walking anywhere within 1km radius, which is a given in many cities around the globe.
Take the train instead of driving and take the stairs instead of the escalator. Carry a foldable umbrella in your bag and wear comfortable shoes. In other words, eliminate excuses and make it a point to use your legs to move, instead of just pressing your car’s pedals.
Unfortunately, given the condition of our sidewalks and a general emphasis on motorists instead of pedestrians, even crossing the road in the city can make you feel, at best, a contestant of American Ninja Warrior and, at worst, a prospective roadkill.
If we are looking at cultivating a walking habit among Malaysians to make us healthier, then it is imperative that the authorities pay as much attention to sidewalks as they do to roads.
Providing proper pedestrian sidewalks and maintaining them will go a long way in getting people to move more and be more comfortable with walking than driving.
The sidewalks should be wide and uniform and well-lit at night so it’s comfortable for the public to stroll, even with a pram or wheelchair. Large trees that provide shade should be pruned regularly so old branches won’t drop.
I hope to, one day, see runners roaming the safe streets of KL at night for their runs or families having ice-cream on a sidewalk as wide as the one along Singapore’s Orchard Road.
But until then, pedestrians like me have to navigate unwelcoming sidewalks in the city as cars cruise next to us, on freshly resurfaced roads.
Having lost 25kg of excess weight, Women, Fashion & Health Editor Syida Lizta Amirul Ihsan believes that sustainable changes lead to big differences