Sidewalks on a Budget: Refusing to Design for People

Taking a walk on the streets of Lusaka is an occupational hazard. I dare you to try it. I dare you to jump on a bike and cycle anywhere—that's risky business, the sort of thing that will have you running into your maker with notable promptness. The truth is, these streets were not designed for pedestrians. They are designed for cars, turning pedestrians into an afterthought forced to navigate their way between cars and drains.

The typical Zambian road is a single carriageway with a nice dotted streak in the middle and yellow to mark the edge of each lane, denoting the boundary between car territory and human territory. Or is it the boundary between car-in-motion territory and car-in-layover territory? At around 500mm wide, it can't be layover territory because the average car width is 1.7m, so it must be human territory as the average adult human, coming in at 400mm at the shoulder will basically just scrape through, and hopefully not lose an ear to a speeding car. To be fair, the drain that follows the yellow line is usually just narrow enough for pedestrians to jump across every time a car comes edging a bit too close (sarcasm). Unfortunately, two problems are created every time a car breaks down or needs to stop for whatever reason. Firstly, half the car will take up the 500mm that was either pedestrian or layover territory, and the other half will take up half their side of the road, leaving the oncoming-traffic-lane as the only way around for both pedestrians and other drivers—unless the pedestrian remembers their Spiderman days and goes leaping over the drains, venturing into some mild trespassing on some poor soul's soon-to-be-brown lawn.

If you think this sounds perilous by day, I dare you to try it at night. The drivers, knowing how precarious the whole situation is, will preemptively flash their high beams at any oncoming pedestrian, blinding them into kingdom come—which may be the point as Zambia is a Christian nation (allegedly), and perhaps creating situations that raise the odds of one going off to meet their maker ahead of schedule may be the Christian thing to do (sarcasm). "Where do you expect me to go?" the pedestrian may groan with irritation as he goes flying across the drain. "Yeah, there," the self-important driver grins. "This little 500mm is car territory!" Never mind that the pedestrian is half-blind from the flashing lights. "Just remember the samurai training from your youth and sense your way onto the lawn! And if you slip and fall into the drain or meet a snake on that lawn... say 'hi' to the creator for me. You're welcome!"

I know what you're thinking at this point. I know because I'm thinking it too: "What about cyclists?" I'm glad you asked. In the words of Marvel's Black Panther, "[Cycle?]... we don't do that here." And if you're that poor oblivious cyclist who did not get the memo, tough! Whoever designed this thing entirely forgot about you. "Forget about burning calories, buy a damn car. Otherwise, cycle in the drain; no one is using it!"

According to the Federal Highway Administration's 'Walkways, Sidewalks, and Public Spaces,' "sidewalks require a minimum width of [1.5m] if set back from the curb or [1.8m] if at the curb face. Any width less than this does not meet the minimum requirements for people with disabilities." To be fair, there are one or two actually designated sidewalks to be found here and there. To be exacting, few ever come close to 1.8m wide, and as far as inclusive design goes, there's narry a ramp or tactile paving to be found here. Also, by "designated" I mean abandoned gravel between asphalt and the ditch. Looking at our curbless roads that, even when curbed, are forever skirting the line between barely there and bare[ly] minimum—I'm not one to throw stones, but a lot of allegedly cost-effective (sarcasm) choices were made.

What makes a city pedestrian-friendly? Beyond the aforementioned sidewalks, you have things like green spaces and parks, benches, mixed-use design, access to public transport, shaded walkways, car-free zones, and inclusive design (pro-disabled design). I remember seeing a park once when I was a kid. Haven't seen one as an adult in all my travels across the nation. So where did all the parks go? There used to be a park in Kitwe. Possibly one of the last remnants of a bygone era. They paved that over and turned it into a shopping mall. Yay! (sarcasm). There used to be something called Chelstone Green in Lusaka. Not exactly a park, but there were trees—there ain't no green there no more. It's been bulldozed and turned into what I hear are million kwacha plots. Yay capitalism, too bad for the environment and quality of life from green spaces. That is not the worst of it.. There are entire neighborhoods without a single tree to be found (looking at you, Kamwala South). The roads in the old town used to be shaded by trees just a few years ago, but they cut those down to widen the roads for the almighty automobile. Now all you have is asphalt, drains, and concrete fences. As for access to public transport: it is there and it is horrid. For what it is worth, some towns are just so sprawling that proper coverage I will admit really is a tricky proposition. Mixed-use design would probably have helped, but that is a fight for another day. Insert sigh here.