Tamil Nadu - Madurai   

Sudden change in traffic system draws flak

— Photo: K. Ganesan

BACK TO SQUARE ONE: School students weaving in and out of vehicles near St. Mary’s Church intersection on East Veli Street in the city on Tuesday.

MADURAI: A sudden change in traffic system on East Veli Street in the city has come in for severe criticism from the public.

Traffic police recently lifted one-way traffic system on the street and reintroduced two-way traffic on this busy arterial road.

With vehicular traffic growing manifold, many tier-II cities are widening the roads by evicting encroachers. Converting two-way traffic system into one-way traffic system is being accorded high priority in many cities as the vehicle flow requires more carriage space. Keeping this in mind, Commissioner of Police K. Nandabalan even launched a novel programme of removing encroachments on busy stretches. Called “vaaram oru veethi” (one street every week), the move did fetch desired results as some of the areas, including Netaji Road and pockets in and around Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple, got the much-needed relief, according to shopkeepers and the public.

When a large number of motorists are satisfied with the one-way traffic system on East Veli Street, what compelled the police to reintroduce two-way system, wonders a R. Ashok, a pharmaceutical company representative, who uses this stretch regularly. “Earlier, parking on one side was allowed. Now, with the two-way traffic system in place, though parking is allowed on one side, many vehicles are parked on both the sides of the road, hindering free mobility of vehicles,” he says.

Some parents of students studying in St. Joseph’s Girls Higher Secondary School point out that without posting adequate traffic police personnel, reverting to the old system has resulted in chaotic condition at the busy St. Mary’s Church junction near the school.

Autorickshaw drivers in the area said that with Tirumalai Naick Palace situated in the area, tourists, foreigners in particular, get caught in the melee caused by frequent traffic snarls. Lorries are parked on the middle of the road for loading and unloading in this area, compounding the problem caused by the two-way traffic system.

Like Simakkal-Yanaikkal stretch, Albert Victor bridge and Periyar bus stand area, East Veli Street should also remain one-way as mobility would be faster, feel road users.

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