Kerala - Kochi   

Traffic curbs along M.G. Road eased

Staff Reporter

Chamber says a portion of footpath can be added to road width

KOCHI : Vehicular traffic that was held up at many points along M.G. Road on Thursday following curbs on U-turns and one-ways, eased on Friday.

This was after the police eased the restrictions on U-turns at Woodlands Junction and Warriam Road Junction, and restored one-way traffic in stretches where they were modified. Traffic hold ups had worsened along M.G. Road on Thursday, following the restrictions that were tried out on an experimental basis.

The ban on right-angled entry to the Mullassery Canal road will stay, since this practice was causing snarls at the junction. Vehicles will now have to take the nearest U-turn and then gain access to the road.

Assistant Commissioner of Police (Traffic-West) K.B. Venugopal said that traffic along M.G. Road increased after buses plying through the Chitoor Road began to be diverted to the M.G. Road, following KRL's pipe-laying work. He said that alongside traffic reforms, vehicles parked in a way that obstructed the free flow of traffic would be towed away.

"Twenty eight two-wheelers and 12 cars have been towed away from different parts of the city on Thursday. Around 75 vehicles have been towed away on Friday and fines imposed on them. Travel agencies, which park luxury buses on M.G. Road, have been asked not to do so. The drive will continue, since wayside parking is found to be a major cause of traffic snarls. The police will also take action against vehicles parked on footpath," Mr. Venugopal said. Junctions all along the M.G. Road are narrow, making it a nightmare for motorists to cross them. Unless the Corporation and the Public Works Department (PWD) take steps to widen them, traffic hold-ups in the stretch from Madhava Pharmacy Junction to Thevara will only worsen. The minimum that they can do is paint zebra lines and parking bays and restrict the number of parking enclaves.

The situation is worse in footpath. Some shops use the footpath as parking space for vehicles owned by customers and shop owners.

Their security guards prevent even bikes from being parked in front. In some places, slabs are either broken or dangerously protrude out. Traffic hold-ups have become regular in the Palarivattom-Kacheripady stretch and at the entrance to the Market Road from Banerjee Road.

The Kerala Chamber of Commerce and Industry has suggested that a portion of footpath be added to the road width (and the width of the North and South overbridges) so that vehicles can move faster.

The District Administration's promise that the bridges will be widened after taking over the footpath on one side is yet to bear fruit.

Chamber president E.S. Jose said that footpath should be wide enough to carry just two or three people. "The underground cables and pipelines can be relaid in ducts. Moreover, it is high time the civic body began levying parking fees in more areas. In places like Broadway and M.G. Road, vehicles can be seen parked from morning to evening," he said.

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