City Traffic Police have installed barricades on the State Bank Road near the railway station to ensure free flow of traffic.
Traffic chaos on the road was a major challenge for the police force especially during the peak hours — 5am to 10am, 11am to 3pm, and from 7pm to 11pm — when important trains either arrive or depart from the Coimbatore Junction.
Traffic police carried out a study of the traffic pattern at this junction and first disciplined the bus crew. On instructions from City Police Commissioner A.K. Viswanathan and Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) T.K. Rajasekaran, barricades were first erected near the bus bays along the Railway Station Road to prevent the bus crew from stopping the buses on the middle of the road and thereby halting the traffic.
The measure yielded result, but it was not a lasting solution for the problem of traffic congestion on the road. Now, the police have installed barricades along the road from Fire and Rescue Services office to Railway Police station. This not only ensures enough space for the vehicles, but also prevents jaywalking, police sources said.
Inspector of Police (Traffic — East), C. Ayyarsamy said that two constables will be posted during peak hours to ensure that the bus drivers follow the norms. The lined up barricades have two openings for the vehicles to cut across the road to enter into the lane opposite the railway station and for reaching the two parking lots at the railway station.
Police are planning to have such barricades installed at a number of places across the city, but are facing constraints in terms of enough number of barricades. Corporate houses willing to donate barricades as part of their corporate social responsibility could do so by approaching Assistant Commissioner of Police S. Ramakrishnan (Traffic — East). Police are also trying to have six bus stops closer to bridges, traffic signals and road curves shifted a little away to reduce traffic bottlenecks.
