Narrow city sidewalks will be widened to at least 1.5 meters and some amenities and services, such as restaurants and public telephone booths would be barred from narrow walkways, under an infrastructure draft law.

Shanghai Road and Bridge Management Law is now under discussion by the Standing Committee of the Shanghai People's Congress, the city's top legislative body. "The new law aims to widen sidewalks for pedestrian convenience," said Li Zhiqiang, a committee member in charge of urban construction.

The draft stated some public facilities, such as telephone kiosks, mail drops and litter bins, cannot be installed on roads narrower than 1.5 meters. The law will be discussed for two months.

Wu Yuian of the Shanghai Engineering Administrative Bureau, said: "It will be a challenge to widen sidewalks, particularly commercial streets in downtown areas."

She said sidewalks of some busy streets are very narrow, causing inconvenience for pedestrians.

One could easily find some typical streets with narrow sidewalks such as Shaanxi Road N. in Jing'an District, Renmin Road in Huangpu District and Sichuan Road in Hongkou District.

Once the committee approves the draft, the sidewalk will be expanded.

The city's sidewalk problems became worse in the 1990s, when streets were widened to make room for more cars to alleviate traffic congestion.

Chen Youhua, an urban planning expert, said: "Many local roads were designed as residential streets within the former concessions. However, as more fashion boutiques opened, sidewalks became too narrow."

(Shanghai Daily June 28, 2006)