The Legislative Yuan on Tuesday approved regulations aiming to tackle pedestrian safety issues, including obstructed sidewalks and uneven walkways. The new rules stipulate a fine of NT$30,000 to NT$150,000 (US$923 to US$4,614) for failure to remove sidewalk obstructions within a specified timeline and allow local governments to have uneven walkways rebuilt.
Minister of the Interior Lin Yu-chang (林右昌) said in a statement that the rules were part of a four-year NT$40 billion project to improve pedestrian safety.
Improvements to pedestrian conditions in Taiwan are welcome, but the project is arguably very ambitious and unlikely to have a significant impact.
The issue is that many roads in Taiwan do not have sidewalks, and to add sidewalks and move light posts, transformers and fire hydrants toward the road to avoid obstructing pedestrians might make those roads too narrow for traffic.
Another major issue is rampant violations, in which businesses put items on sidewalks, and people park scooters on sidewalks where there is no designated space for doing so.
Without sufficient enforcement of regulations, widening sidewalks would only result in more space being illegally occupied by businesses and drivers.
Lack of consistency in surface material is another problem.
It is not uncommon in Taiwan to see someone slip and fall on a sidewalk with smooth tiles after rain, or due to the sidewalk being unexpectedly steeper than the part just before it. It is dangerous, especially for those who are visually impaired, on crutches or pushing a stroller.
Tackling this problem would require local governments to: clearly demarcate the sidewalk area; designate safe materials for sidewalk surfaces and use them uniformly across a city or municipality; ensure the sidewalk is consistently level along the whole length of a street; forbid businesses or individuals from modifying the sidewalk unless authorized; and enforce the regulations.
Sidewalks are only one threat to pedestrian safety in Taiwan. Other major issues include unsafe building fixtures and drivers who fail to yield at crosswalks.
A 21-year-old woman died on July 20 last year when an air-conditioner fell on her while she was waiting at a bus stop, and many people have been struck by vehicles and killed while crossing roads.
In one case, a woman and her baby were killed by a bus while crossing a road in Taichung on Dec. 28, 2022.
Pedestrians in Taiwan are conditioned to believe that they should yield to vehicles at crosswalks, despite the law saying the opposite. Motorists often honk their horns when approaching crossings, rather than slowing down to watch for pedestrians.
When stricter fines were introduced last year to deter people from driving through crosswalks while there are pedestrians, some drivers were critical of pedestrians.
A Taoyuan junior-high school student even won a High Distinction Award in the comics category at the National Student Art Competition for his piece, The Emperor Clause, which depicted a pedestrian portrayed as an emperor slowly crossing the road while drivers and scooter riders wait impatiently.
To truly improve pedestrian safety, the government needs to enforce sidewalk and crosswalk-related regulations, and better educate drivers and the public.
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