The challenges of pedestrian mobility in the face of commercial occupation of sidewalks in Abomey Calavi

Summary: Road planning involves providing dedicated traffic lanes for each user. However, the growth of economic activity is creating an increasingly pressing need for space for various uses. Under these conditions, sidewalks once reserved for pedestrian mobility are disappearing, despite frequent crackdowns by public authorities during operations to free up public space and repair urban planning. As a result, this category of actors is forced to use other users' traffic passages to move around. Such interference by commercial actors on the free movement of pedestrians is the cause of numerous traffic conflicts. This reflection, therefore, set out to question the practices of occupation of pedestrian space and to consider solutions for the sustainability of pedestrian mobility. The investigations revealed that development choices, infrastructure maintenance policy and the development of commercial activities in built-up areas are the main determinants of the diversion of sidewalks from their use. Therefore, the implementation of actions based on these three pillars will promote the equitable sharing of public space.