Unfortunately, the current state of a significant number of streets in Baku not only do not meet the requirements of modern standards but also constitutes a source of the threat.

For this post, we picked 6 examples that once again vividly prove that a pedestrian in Baku is the least honorable road user.

1. Street without a sidewalk is very common

To meet the street in Baku, along which there is no sidewalk for walking, is very common.

These sad photos speak for themselves. These were made not on the outskirts of the city, but on the central streets of the capital. As you can see, sidewalks are not provided here, and pedestrians are invited to walk straight along the road.

Some sidewalks unexpectedly end or occupied with a lamppost.

 2. Insufficient number of ramps

Since Soviet times most pedestrian crossings on streets almost never had ramps for disabled people or parents with strollers.

However, the streets built and reconstructed over almost 30 years of independence rarely provided for ramps. Only at the end of 2017, the Baku Transport Agency initiated a project to install tactile ramps in Baku.

The agency has very hard work, because even after a year and a half, such ramps can be found not at every crossing and sidewalk. These are mainly central streets.

3.  U-shaped pedestrian crossings

Another legacy of the last century. 40-50 years ago, the Soviets were sure that every citizen would have a personal car in a beautiful bright future, and that nobody would need walking. And in general, pedestrians should not interfere with car traffic - they reasoned.

As one of the side effects of this wrong thinking - the so-called U-shaped pedestrian crossings at intersections. This is when pedestrian markings are drawn only from three sides of the road. On the fourth side, it is not done under the pretext of "not to create obstacles for cars when turning".

According to the logic of road services, in order to cross the road from point A to point B, a pedestrian must travel three times the distance, and in the case of an adjustable intersection, wait for an additional two phases of the traffic light.

Of course, the overwhelming number of pedestrians will not do this, especially people with limited mobility. We can add here tourists with luggage or pedestrians with heavy objects.

Therefore, they do not do that in developed countries. In addition, diagonal transitions are already being used in the world.

4. Non-working pedestrian traffic lights or lack thereof

We often complain that pedestrians cross the road to a prohibiting signal of the traffic light. But few people pay attention to the fact that at many signalized intersections a traffic light for pedestrians (the same one with red and green little men) may not work or be completely absent.

The rules say that in this case pedestrians should be guided by traffic lights for cars, but this behavior should be exceptional, not systemic.

5. The awkward distances between pedestrian crossings

Often the distance between pedestrian crossings on city streets is so large that even the most ardent motorists are indignant with this. One of the most obvious examples is Yusif Safarov street. Despite the rather large number of objects of activity (shops, schools, hospitals, parks, offices and, including the police headquarters), there is only one pedestrian crossing on this street more than a kilometer long.

Several years ago there were four pedestrian crosswalks on this street, but after transforming this street into a “monster” (this was explained in detail by Huseyn) pedestrian zebras were “safely” rid of in favor of high-speed autotrafic.

Look at this map. In order to cross the section of this street which is 60 meters wide in the direction of the Javanshir Bridge, you need to make a detour of 650 meters. In people-oriented cities such absurdities should not exist.

At the very least, it was possible to provide crossing marking for the passage at the intersection with a traffic light.

6. We build grade-separated pedestrian crossings where they are inappropriate.

In Baku, as in other cities in the post-Soviet camp, there are many underground crossings. We (and many other blogs about urban planning) have already talked about their harm and inconvenience. Unfortunately, they continue to be built to this day.

The favorite pedestrian street of the capital is Nizami Street (Torgovaya). A few years ago, at the crossing of Torgovaya and S.Vurgun Street, they got rid of the zebra crossings and made an underground passage.

Now, to cross two lanes people have to go under the ground. There are no escalators, and the ramps are too sheer. Experts have long proved that the underpass in the city streets is a town-planning mistake.

In Europe, such underpasses were abandoned decades ago, and in the most motorized country in the world - the United States - they were never built at all.

But there is good news ...

They are that it is not too late to correct the situation. Today we can start taking comprehensive measures to improve the urban environment and create the missing infrastructure.

Based on the experience of developed countries, we can make both Baku and other beautiful cities of our country not only safe but also comfortable and fair for all categories of residents.

We will definitely return to this topic again with more specific examples.

Authors: