The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Law & Order

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Nov 26, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Law & Order

With a fast increasing vehicular population, it is time they are shifted, says P. Oppili

Of bus stops and traffic snarls

Motorists using the Lattice Bridge Road (from the Tiruvanmiyur signal to the Coronet junction in Adyar) are put to a lot of hardship everyday during peak hours due to the three bus stops on the stretch. Police say the bus stops near the Tiruvanmiyur signal, near the Thyagaraja theatre on the northern side, and the Jayanthi theatre on the south side, cause the problem. Whenever an Adyar-bound bus stops near Jayanthi theatre, it leads to a traffic jam. Similarly, when buses from ECR, Tiruvanmiyur and Old Mahabalipuram Road halt at the Jayanthi stop, movement of vehicles from Tiruvanmiyur to Adyar is paralysed.

The signal is being operated manually at Tiruvanmiyur, as policemen are unable to use the timers fixed with the signals at the junction, say police authorities.

The police have put up a signal at the junction of Shastri Nagar 1st Main Road and Lattice Bridge Road. It was on trial a fortnight back. Here also, buses halting near Eros Theatre cause traffic snarls. Initially, the traffic police said they had to adjust the timer attached to the new signal to ease traffic flow.

With a fast increasing vehicular population, it was time the traffic police and the MTC authorities shifted the bus stops. At the Tiruvanmiyur junction, it is not only the bus stops that are slowing down vehicular movement, but also pedestrian traffic. Motorists say an overbridge or a subway is badly needed. During peak hours, pedestrians slow down traffic, while exposing themselvesto the risk of being hit by speeding vehicles.

A senior police officer said the police have had discussions with the MTC authorities to shift the stops. The police shifted a bus stop on Wallajah Road recently. They can do the same on the Lattice Bridge too, said a senior official.

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