CHAOTIC PLANNING: The long island at Madhu Chowk suffers from bad engineering and hinders free flow of traffic at both ends. — Photo: Raju. V

VIJAYAWADA: Poor design and engineering defects in the traffic island at the busy Madhu Chowk has proved to be the single biggest factor for tardy movement of vehicles.

The island being too long, two-wheeler users and autorickshaw drivers prefer to cut into opposite traffic rather than take a U-turn at both ends. The problem is accentuated by the fact that three roads meet at ICICI ATM point and two roads at Balaji Hotel point.

No signals

Despite being a major junction on route number 5, one can't find signal lights and traffic constables here, which compound the problem.

Local shopkeepers express concern mainly over traffic violations by vehicle owners coming from Pushpa Hotel Centre and intending to move towards Bandar Road. Instead of taking a U-turn around the traffic island, they drive into the traffic coming in the opposite direction from Siddhartha College at the ICICI ATM point, and force their way into Badavapet Road.

"Sometimes, even cars and jeeps avoid taking U-turn. As a result, traffic snarls are a frequent sightNobody knows which vehicle is moving in which direction," says K. Rama Rao, owner of a general stores located opposite the traffic island.

He says the problems have been represented to the traffic police and the authorities of Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC).

The representatives of Lanco Group have already started making some changes to the island, such as shortening it at both ends. At the ICICI ATM point, the island is being cut up to 15 metres. The statue of freedom fighter Katragadda Madhusudhana Rao is also being repositioned to facilitate modifications.

But J.P. Eeswar, an executive in a private telecommunications company, feels that the repairs will help in ensuring free movement of traffic to only some extent. For a lasting solution, the island should be split into two small islands, so that vehicle users will have no scope to violate the rules, he feels.

At the other end of the island too, the situation is much the same. Traffic coming from Jammichettu Centre and intending to enter the lane, in which Gowtham Public School and Jan Shikshan Sansthan are located, avoid taking U-turn around the island at ICICI ATM point. They plunge into the traffic coming in the opposite direction from Pushpa Hotel Centre and create a dangerous situation, before slipping into the lane.

P. Raghu, a resident of Kasturibaipet, expresses concern over the plight of schoolchildren during peak hours of traffic. Motorists drive at far higher speed than required in the city limits and drive menacingly from Pushpa Hotel Centre. Buses moving towards Bishop School and Red Circle are stopping beside electricity transformer at Madhu Complex, hindering free flow of traffic. When city buses halt even for a few seconds to pick up passengers, dozens of vehicles behind them come to a screeching halt. All of this suggests that instead of trying to solve the problems in a piecemeal manner, a comprehensive re-design of the island will be a better option.

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