Late last year, CNN Travel reported that Taiwan, a country renowned for its hospitality, sees many incidents of pedestrians being hit by vehicles that fail to give way at crosswalks, including many leading to injury or death.
CNN even called Taiwan a “living hell” for pedestrians. The term has resonated with the Taiwanese media and people, becoming a buzzword.
Faced with a “living hell” for pedestrians, the public expects the government to propose solutions to the problem.
The government can show its determination by outfitting more intersections with technology to discipline drivers who fail to give way to pedestrians, allowing the public to report unsafe driving and deploying more police officers to issue tickets for illegal parking.
Surprisingly, newly inaugurated Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) became the first local government head to address the issue when he announced that all motorcycles must immediately be removed from the city’s sidewalks.
He also said his administration would remove parking spaces for scooters that partly block the sidewalks along major roads in central Taipei, such as Dunhua N Road and Renai Road sections 1 and 2.
As a descendant of a notable family, Chiang perhaps does not need a motorcycle to get around Taipei and worry about parking. Maybe this is why he does not fully understand the importance of parking spaces for people who commute to work in central Taipei by scooter.
Authorities have for years allowed scooters to park on designated spaces at the edge of sidewalks. Most people who park on those spaces turn off the engine of their scooter before pushing it onto the sidewalk. The risk that they harm pedestrians is slim.
As Taipei is tackling the “living hell” for pedestrians, it unfortunately stigmatizes all motorcyclists. It is the wrong solution to a pressing problem, and it shows that the Chiang administration needs to work harder to draft its policies.
Fan Shuo-ming is a senior administrative specialist at National Chengchi University.
Translated by Eddy Chang
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