Cars destroying Kathmandu

Long road to nowhere | Opinion | Oped: "Although high-speed wide roads are essential physical infrastructure of cities, they are completely taken over by vehicles and people are pushed to narrow sidewalks. Under any circumstances, such roads should not penetrate settlements where roads are often the only public open space, which then becomes a stage for urban social life. Nevertheless, roads in dense neighborhoods have also been widened, which is likely to invite more traffic in the near future. This is a threat to lively outdoor street activities. A more prudent choice would have been to divert vehicular flow outside and preserve social life. After all, street culture is an indispensable part of urban life that brings people from diverse socio-cultural backgrounds together."