Walking across the street in Colombo can be a risky move. Traffic is chaotic, often bumper-to-bumper, and cars, buses and three-wheelers take advantage of breaks in traffic with acceleration that rivals a jumbo jet take-off. Pedestrians have to be assertive, agile and a little lucky.
"Crosswalks" are faded yellow lines on the road that are often completely covered by the bumper-to-bumper traffic during rush hour - just the time most people are trying to cross the road. There are a few kind drivers that stop to let you cross but it's a rare event. Rather, it often feels like you're a target in some sick game of chicken.
So, it seemed extremely odd that the government announced yesterday that they're cracking down on jaywalkers. Rs. 100 (about $1 US) fines to anyone caught doing the unthinkable after the 14-day introductory program. The "pilot project" is intended to "prevent accidents and minimize traffic jams," police said.
One of today's cover stories was a photo op of a Colombo traffic cop training two pedestrians to use pedestrian crossings. We missed the part about training the pedestrians to avoid becoming roadkill at the crossings. Combined with the city's lack of sidewalks, this new move definetely puts the city in the pedestrian-unfriendly category. Guess the more logical step of having the police actually enforce traffic laws for vehicles seemed too complicated.
