Narrow city sidewalks will be widened to at least 1.5 meters and
some amenities and services, such as restaurants and public
telephone booths would be barred from narrow walkways, under an
infrastructure draft law.
Shanghai Road and Bridge Management Law is now under discussion
by the Standing Committee of the Shanghai People's Congress, the
city's top legislative body. "The new law aims to widen sidewalks
for pedestrian convenience," said Li Zhiqiang, a committee member
in charge of urban construction.
The draft stated some public facilities, such as telephone
kiosks, mail drops and litter bins, cannot be installed on roads
narrower than 1.5 meters. The law will be discussed for two
months.
Wu Yuian of the Shanghai Engineering Administrative Bureau,
said: "It will be a challenge to widen sidewalks, particularly
commercial streets in downtown areas."
She said sidewalks of some busy streets are very narrow, causing
inconvenience for pedestrians.
One could easily find some typical streets with narrow sidewalks
such as Shaanxi Road N. in Jing'an District, Renmin Road in Huangpu
District and Sichuan Road in Hongkou District.
Once the committee approves the draft, the sidewalk will be
expanded.
The city's sidewalk problems became worse in the 1990s, when
streets were widened to make room for more cars to alleviate
traffic congestion.
Chen Youhua, an urban planning expert, said: "Many local roads
were designed as residential streets within the former concessions.
However, as more fashion boutiques opened, sidewalks became too
narrow."
(Shanghai Daily June 28, 2006)