In India, one in every five persons killed in a road accident is a pedestrian. Yet, the road infrastructure is heavily skewed towards motorised vehicles, leaving people barely enough space to walk on footpaths.After the Supreme Court’s order recognising the right to walk on footpaths as a fundamental right, Andhra Pradesh has become the country’s first state to formulate a pedestrian safety policy. Since roads and footpaths are a state subject, it is incumbent upon state governments to ensure citizens’ fundamental right to safe footpaths. The Andhra Pradesh Pedestrian Safety & Universal Accessibility Policy 2026, notified on August 7, mandates a three-step system to address the issue — road safety audits, fixing footpath infrastructure (including removal of encroachments) and behavioural change.The policy will apply to all local body areas, including urban fringes, peri-urban areas, satellite towns and rural areas. However, agencies responsible for roads in cities with populations above one million have been directed to implement it first, followed by other areas.The policy also invokes section 198A of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, under which officials, contractors, and consultants can be fined Rs 1 lakh if infrastructural or design failures cause pedestrian death or disability.In 2024, out of 8,346 road accident deaths in Andhra Pradesh, 1,739 were pedestrians. At the national level, out of 1.77 lakh road deaths recorded in 2024, 36,526 were pedestrians.Story continues below this adAccording to the latest Road Accident in India report by Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), around 31% of pedestrian deaths occur on national highways alone. Most pedestrians die after being hit by two-wheelers (over 28%), closely followed by cars or taxis (around 25%), trucks/lorries (14%), buses (6%), and auto rickshaws (over 3%). Other factors account for 21.5% of pedestrian deaths. We explain the key interventions of Andhra Pradesh pedestrian policy.Footpath auditsThe work of safe footpaths will begin with auditing the existing infrastructure. According to the policy, local authorities will conduct an audit of the existing footpaths with priority to crowded and high-footfall areas such as markets, railway stations, bus stands, religious and educational institutions. It says authorities must prioritise at least 15-20 specific “black spots” — places where there have been frequent pedestrian injuries or deaths that have occurred in the last 2-3 years.Story continues below this adAlso Read | Expert Explains | Supreme Court called for right to walk: Why this will need more than footpathsThe audit will cover the assessment of the physical condition of the pavement and pedestrian crossings, its severity, accessibility and illumination status.The authorities must survey 20% of roads within one year of policy commencement to assess additional pedestrian crossing requirements, and finalise the work within seven months.Footpaths are often occupied or blocked by food stalls, construction activity and parked cars. This forces pedestrians to use the road for walking, which can lead to an accident.The policy directs the mandatory removal of unauthorised structures, illegal stalls and other encroachments on footpaths. However, it does not specify any timeline for the encroachment clearance drives.Story continues below this adIt recommends automated and camera-based monitoring systems for these footpaths, GIS mapping and photographic records to track chronic encroachment hotspots, citizen reporting via a district-level mobile app or portal for violations and deployment of pedestrian guardrails and bollards.Width and height of a footpathThe specification of footpath infrastructure in the policy is built on Indian Roads Congress (IRC) guidelines on pedestrian safety 2022. The footpaths shall have a minimum walking area of two metres to accommodate wheelchairs comfortably, 0.4-1 metre of buffer space and a 1.5-metre area for multi-utility zone to accommodate tree pits, auto rickshaw stands, seating and on-street vending. Also Read | Behind Supreme Court order on right to walk on footpaths, a surge in India’s pedestrian deathsMost importantly, the height of the footpath shall not be more than 150 mm from the road, which is a standard step riser. The surface must be firm, stable, even and slip-resistant. The bollards to prevent bikes from entering the footpath should be 0.5-0.7 metres high with a clear spacing of 0.6 metres between them, and one with 1 metre width for wheelchair access.The pedestrian policy also mandates the tactile pavers to aid visually impaired persons and curb ramps at all crossings. Story continues below this adThe policy discourages forcing pedestrians onto inaccessible foot overbridges (FOBs) where at-grade crossings like zebra crossing can be safely provided. It says that where FOBs or subways exist, lifts are mandatory where level differences are significant. FOBs must have CCTV linked to command centres, panic buttons connected to police stations, and demarcated entry & exit.Social policing and performanceApart from the government enforcement, the policy has also included the provision of behavioural change among citizens. A district-level grievance mobile application or portal will be created to facilitate the reporting of violations by citizens, such as wrong-side driving and the encroachment upon footpaths.It also says that public awareness campaigns shall be executed to educate citizens, vendors, merchants, and property developers regarding their rights and responsibilities concerning footpaths. “Town planning authorities are formally mandated to integrate pedestrian-friendly infrastructure into all planning processes. This integration shall be performed with active consultation and input from disability rights advocacy groups and the State/District Road Safety Committee,” the policy said.Story continues below this adIt also mandates the ranking metric for evaluating the performance of different urban local bodies on pedestrian safety. It will include measurable decrease in the road accidents, kilometres of pedestrian-friendly and universally accessible footpaths developed, retrofitted and maintained; and percentage of identified high-footfall corridors and pedestrian hotspots brought into compliance with the policy.