The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Pedestrians say their safety takes a backseat

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, May 03, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Pedestrians say their safety takes a backseat

L. Srikrishna

New traffic system around Saidapet-Raj Bhavan hailed, but residents allege over-speeding by vehicles

POST-APRIL 15 SCENE: Pedestrians seem to be having a tough time crossing the road near Little Mount where a new traffic regulation has come into force. — Photo: K. Pichumani

CHENNAI : The new traffic arrangement around the Saidapet-Raj Bhavan area and on Sardar Patel Road, which came into force on April 15, though easing the traffic flow, has come in for flak from pedestrians and a section of motorists.

A reduction in the travel time for the motorists using the roads has also meant over-speeding of vehicles. This, coupled with the lack of foot overbridges, is posing serious hazards to pedestrians. The pavements on the stretches are too small or encroached upon and some places have no pavements at all, forcing people to walk on the carriageway.

Pedestrians trying to cross the roads have a harrowing time to make sure that they are not hit by vehicles, for whom the new traffic arrangement has meant removal of automatic signals at four key places.

Lack of infrastructure

The residents of Little Mount and Srinagar Colony staged a road blockade recently in protest against the changes. "We are not opposing the changes, but only the absence of basic infrastructure needed to back the redesigning of traffic system," said V. Geetha, a resident of Srinagar Colony.

Almost as an afterthought and after the agitation by the residents, the police marked zebra crossings, she pointed out. The common grouse is that planners have ignored pedestrian safety in their preoccupation with ensuring smooth movement of vehicles.

Also after the protest, traffic personnel have been posted at a few points to enable pedestrians to cross the road.

But as a petrol bunk staffer in the Velachery roundabout said, the vehicles move at a frightening speed during the off-peak hours. It is also being pointed out that in the new scheme of things, the planners have not considered the fact that Taluk Office Road served two sets of housing colonies: Venkata Nagar on the western side and Little Mount, Srinagar Colony, Thomas Nagar, Satya Nagar, Rangarajapuram, besides a host of smaller neighbourhoods on the eastern side.

The area houses numerous schools that attract students from other parts of the city. "Once the schools reopen, it will be a nightmare for students to cross the road," Saktivel of Venkata Nagar said.

VIP convoys

"The pedestrians' grievance is genuine and authorities should provide subways or elevators,'' Ramabadran of Velachery said. He also pointed out that if the police stopped vehicles for the sake of VIP movements, the purpose of dispensing with the automatic signals would be lost.

Given that Raj Bhavan is located in the area, the movement of VVIP convoys is something with which the motorists and residents have to contend. Recently, when the police blocked the traffic on the S. P. Road for a VVIP convoy to take a right turn from Raj Bhavan Main Gate, chaos ensued.

This led to a massive clogging of vehicles in and around the Halda Junction-Little Mount, a police officer said.

From a security point of view too, the movement of heavy vehicles on S. P. Road, which also houses Raj Bhavan, can turn into a source of anxiety for the police, said another resident in Saidapet.

Not all motorists, however, are complaining about the new arrangement.

In facat, several of them welcome the changes and say that they are in tune with a rapidly evolving city.

The driver of an MTC bus plying on the Guindy-Madhya Kailash route said while it took a transit time of 45 minutes previously, the stretch could now be covered in 25 minutes. That is one of the major advantages.

Warning

A senior police officer said the changes had been introduced in the larger public interest and only after considering various aspects to ease congestion.

While traffic police had been deployed to address pedestrians' problems, overspeeding of vehicles would be strictly dealt with, he warned.

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