Rally for Pedestrian Rights Planned in Tbilisi

Non-Governmental Organization ‘Walk’ (Iare Pexhit) plans to hold a rally to defend pedestrian rights of citizens on Sunday, November 20 in the capital of Georgia, Tbilisi. The rally will start in front of the Old Parliament building at 14:00.

The organization claims it is advocating and improving the rights of pedestrians in the cities through education, rising of awareness and lobbying, while using different tools to “return public spaces to their rightful owners.”

According to the organizers of the rally, their goal is to address a continuous, massive disappearance of public spaces in the city and unregulated constructions taking place all over, resulting in a high level of air pollution on the one hand, and the rise of the injured pedestrians reaching unprecedented numbers on the other. The NGO states that the number of people injured during car accidents have increased by 11 percent from the previous year with every third person injured a pedestrian. During two incidents that happened recently, on October 22 and November 2, three persons were hit by a car in Tbilisi, one on a so called zebra crossing, and another on a side-walk.

As such, the rally organizers are addressing the Tbilisi Municipality, Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia and Parliament to take necessary measures and prohibit car parking on side-walks, in accordance with the legislation, to maximize the penalty for unauthorized parking, and prioritize the safety of pedestrians. The NGO urges Parliament to discuss and implement issues related to contactless patrol and points system alongside the law on road safety.

Nino Gugunishvili