Coimbatore City Police on Wednesday launched the Green Corridor project on Avinashi Road aimed at making motorists to cross a nearly 11.5 km stretch from Airport Junction to Avinashi Road flyover and vice-versa getting a green signal at all the 13 traffic junctions on the stretch.
Police replaced all the mother boards and micro processors at 11 signals on the stretch and synchronised the signals, besides installing two more signals at GKNM Hospital and Bharathi Colony Road Junctions.
This was aimed at avoiding interruption in the flow of traffic by vehicles from the by-lanes.
City Police Commissioner A.K. Viswanathan and Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime and Traffic) T. Senthilkumar inspected all the signals and had several trial runs carried out before inaugurating the project officially on Wednesday.
The lowest time taken under Green Corridor was 19 minutes and the highest time was 23 minutes during peak hour traffic.
Under this initiative, a motorist starting from JM Bakery signal at Uppilipalayam will be able to proceed straight without facing even one red signal right up to Airport Junction covering a distance of 11.5 km in just 19 to 23 minutes on an average.
In the present system, a motorist on an average requires about 35 to 40 minutes for reaching the Airport from the city or vice-versa. The Green Corridor will benefit the motorist, only if he or she drives/ rides at an average speed of 45 kmph, since the signals are synchronised in such manner considering the distance and speed required to cover the distance between each signal.
Even, if for any reason, a motorist had to reduce the speed and face a red signal in between, the motorist could be assured of a green signal at all junctions, Mr.Senthilkumar said.
While the signals are technically synchronised and equipped to turn the stretch into a green corridor, the first day Green Corridor experience on Avinashi Road revealed a handful of pit falls. DCP Mr.Senthilkumar said that to sensitise the motorists and to generate awareness on the dos and don’ts to make the green corridor effective, a campaign will be launched using the volunteers from Lead India 2020.
Green Corridor could bring in the following benefits: adhering to lane discipline, free and smooth flow of traffic, saving of time and fuel time, eliminating the ordeal of shifting gears at frequent levels and minimising accident rate.
Pitfalls
The system could be derailed by the following pitfalls witnessed on the first day: failure to maintain the 45 kmph speed (going at less than 45 kmph speed or even exceeding the speed limit will render the system ineffective), indiscriminate parking of vehicles on extreme road boundaries wherein they protrude into the motorable road space, road crossing by pedestrians in places where there are no traffic signals, vehicles trying to take a U-turn at places wherever there is an opening in the road median thus holding up the traffic behind, failure to maintain discipline in using the lanes, slow moving vehicles such as auto rickshaws and cargo carriers should stick to the lane at the extreme end of the road to allow the vehicles proceeding at the stipulated speed.
Only after turning this into a successful system, the police would embark on the initiative to create a green corridor system on the same Avinashi Road for emergency vehicles such as ambulance and fire and rescue tenders.
After a study of this system and fine-tuning it, based on the Avanashi Road experience, the city police would think about extending the green corridor system to other arterial roads such as Tiruchi Road and Mettuppalayam Road (after road works are completed), officials said.
