For the Coimbatore City Traffic Police’s initiative to improve vehicle movement on the busy, arterial Mettupalayam Road to be successful, they need to do more than synchronising traffic signals. The police should also address issues related to bus stops and parking of buses along the Mettupalayam Road, say residents.
The Coimbatore City Traffic Police have recently synchronised traffic signals from the T.V. Swamy Road Junction to the Thudiyalur Junction so as to enable a motorist to get green signal all along. But to enjoy the same the motorist ought to travel at 40 kmph.
Residents say that the first of the measures the police ought to take is to move bus stops away from junctions and ensure that both government and private bus drivers stop the vehicles only at bus stops.
Pointing to the traffic situation at Kavundampalayam as an example, the residents say that stopping the vehicles near the junctions lead to traffic jam.
Misuse of bus stops
It also encourages misuse of bus stops by street vendors who park their carts underneath the shelters.
The residents want the police to move the bus stops away from the road edges so as to ensure free vehicle movement.
The one near the Chinthamani is a case in point. They have highlighted the menace of temporary bus stops – places where drivers stop the buses to pick up and drop passengers at will without authorisation. There are many near Saibaba Colony.
They have also sought lighting along the stretch to prevent accidents.
Deputy Commissioner of Police, Traffic, Pravesh Kumar has said that the green corridor is only the first step in easing congestion. The police will talk to the Transport Department and the Coimbatore Corporation to relocate bus shelters and prevent stoppage of buses at unauthorised places.
