Encroachments have resulted in a bottleneck on Alagarkoil Road along a 500-metre stretch between the ITI bus stop and K. Pudur bus terminus, disrupting peak hour traffic.
Haphazard parking compounds the problem, with vehicles lined up on either side of the road. A used car dealer routinely parks around a dozen two-wheelers by the roadside.
The busy stretch hosts several offices and public facilities, including a Corporation ward office, Corporation maternity hospital, vegetable market, three nationalised banks, and several ATMs and restaurants. “People who come to these places park their vehicles where they please,” A. Soosai Arul, an autorickshaw driver said.
Adding to the congestion are dumper bins placed on the roadside by the Corporation. “The Corporation lorries come to this place during peak hours to clear the garbage. When a lorry halts even for a few minutes on this road, it hinders the traffic flow, leading to traffic jams,” he added. The open space of the bus terminus has become a public parking lot, making it difficult for buses to manoeuvre their way in and out. .
Worse, two bus stops face each other on the road, choking traffic flow every time buses pull in. The district administration’s directives to relocate the bus stops have remained a dead letter.
But Assistant Commissioner of Police (Traffic-Tallakulam) S. Yellapparaj claims the bus stops will soon be shifted between the Lotus Tank junction and the DRO Colony Road. He said parking of vehicles will be allowed only on one side of the road to de-clog traffic flow.