Pune: The fading paint on
zebra crossings and medians across the city is posing problems for pedestrians and motorists, and has become the source of many quarrels between policemen and road users.
Pedestrians, who already hop, skip and jump to stay out of speeding vehicles’ ways, have to remind vehicle users that they have parked on the zebra crossing which are almost invisible.
When traffic policemen manning the chowks try to rein in errant vehicle users, many argue that the zebra crossings are not visible, and get away.
Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has admitted that the paint used to mark pedestrian crossings and the medians is fading within six months when it is expected to last at least for 12 months. The civic body spends crores of rupees to repaint the zebra crossings and medians.
The civic body has pointed out that stopping of vehicles on zebra strips, spilling of vehicle oil, burgeoning vehicle population on the roads, frequent applying of brakes while they cruising to or standing on the markings result in faster erosion of zebra crossing paint.
The administration issues annual contracts for repainting the zebra markings. The road department handles repainting of the major roads, the civic body awards contracts for smaller roads by the respective ward offices. The civic body annually spends Rs 3 crore on zebra marking with spending of each ward office ranging from Rs 15 lakh to Rs 20 lakh.
Though PMC has put the onus of ever the fading stripes on vehicle users, road users said they face risks because thye cannot spot the pedestrian way.
Sachin Gosavi, a regular walker in Deccan Gymkhana, said many chowks in this area do not have zebra markings for pedestrians. “ It is absent at Khandujibaba Chowk. Markings were missing on some chowks on Jangli Maharaj Road. How are pedestrians expected to cross the roads safely when there are no dedicated markings?” Gosavi said.
Seema Shaikh, a resident of Shivajinagar, said most zebra crossings on the roads near schools and colleges are faded. The civic administration should conduct a drive to check the status of zebra markings and medians near educational institutes and market places where there is significant footfall every day, Shaikh said.
Civic activists said PMC must check the quality of paint before the contractors are paid. Vivek Velankar of Sajag Nagrik Manch said, “The civic body should conduct an audit of the annual contracts and quality of work. It is shocking that the markings are fading so quickly,” he said.
Road department officials said faded zebra crossings has been a concern and the administration has been tackling the issue on priority to ensure that the markings are visible.
“Though the paint fades within six months, in some cases, we tell the contractors to re-paint the crossings. We do not make additional payments for such re-painting work,” the official said.
