The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Free flow of traffic impeded

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Wednesday, Mar 19, 2008
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Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Free flow of traffic impeded

G. Anand

Most commercial establishments lack parking lots
Private security men regulate parking and traffic

Thiruvananthapuram: Commercial establishments which lack parking lots are contributing in a major way to the worsening traffic situation in the city, traffic police officials say.

Most shopping malls, restaurants, cinemas, wedding halls and textile showrooms lack designated parking areas for accommodating the vehicles of their customers.

Private security men often marshal space for shoppers by regulating parking and traffic on the public road in front of such establishments. They deny parking space to persons who are not their customers.

The traffic volume in the city exceeds the available road space by 200 per cent and haphazard parking of vehicles in front of commercial establishments is a major cause for traffic snarls.

The huge archway-type advertisement boards that cover the road in a single span also impede smooth traffic flow.

A traffic expert working for the National Transportation Planning and Research Centre said the base of such arches often encroached upon road space, reducing the carriageway width by up to 25 per cent. He said motorists tend to veer away from the base of such hoardings, causing a bottleneck effect on main roads.

The heavy archway type hoardings are a threat to public safety. Most of the hoardings are supported by stay wires attached to streetlight masts. The masts are not designed for taking lateral load and could topple over in windy conditions or if a vehicle dashes against the base of the hoardings.

The District Collector banned such display boards last year on the ground that they were a threat to public safety.

The order was issued under Section 133 of the Criminal Procedure Code and its validity expired after three months.

A section of city residents had asked the government to ban such boards on safety grounds. However, the police, district and Public Works Department authorities were yet to respond positively to their demand, a residents’ association office-bearer said.

Irrational positioning of bus stops is another bottleneck. There are more than 14 bus stops along the 8-km Ulloor-East Fort stretch. Most of the stops are positioned near traffic signal lights, impeding traffic flow even at times when the signal is green.

A traffic expert, quoting Indian Road Congress (IRC) specifications, said the minimum distance between bus stops in urban areas should be at least 1.5 km. On several congested roads, bus stops are located directly opposite one another. Buses plying in opposite directions frequently stop at the same time on either side of the road, entirely blocking traffic on the stretch for several minutes.

The IRC guidelines state that bus stops can be positioned opposite one another only on wide roads divided by medians. Bus bays should be away from the road and nearer to waiting sheds.

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