Traffic signals are usually supposed to be simple devices to help regulation of traffic.
But near the VJT Hall, that just does not happen for the simple reason that getting past the area without standing on your seat, literally, and braking to avoid hitting a pedestrian crossing the road is a rare occurrence.
Students running out from the gate of the University College on the left side as one proceeds from Spencer Junction and takes the turn, and people crossing from the VJT hall side, either to come towards Spencer or to move towards the bus bay or towards the University Library side, are always at risk since most vehicles, particularly from the Palayam side, try to race past the signal.
Most pedestrians also rarely bother about waiting for the red signal to cross the road.
The situation in front of VJT Hall, whether it is rush hour or not, smacks of danger waiting in the wings.
Have the major traffic roundabouts in the capital city outlived their utility? Just drive past, say, Vellayambalam, Enchakkal, or Chacka. During peak traffic hours, most of these major roundabouts turn into traffic nightmares. At Vellayambalam, there is an elaborate traffic signal system. But it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand that the ever-changing traffic lights can barely impose order on the deluge of motorists. The situation at Enchakkal or Chacka is no different; that there are no signal lamps here seems to be the only ‘difference.’ During peak traffic hours the Enchakkal roundabout is chock-a-block with lorries, buses, cars, and even two-wheelers. Caught in all this bedlam, the average motorist asks: “Are the so-called ‘traffic experts’ aware of these problems?”
Talk of traffic accidents waiting to happen. What was once a peaceful stretch of road in front of the Swathi Thirunal College of Music at Thycaud is today the hub of long-distance private buses. Come evenings and the hulking, luxury, buses can be found parked in front of the college gates. But these buses are not the sole vehicular presence on the roads.
Two-wheelers and cars coming from the Government Arts College road and proceeding to Mettukkada or vehicles coming up the road from the Model school junction have to not only manoeuvre past these buses, but they also have to be careful about passengers hurrying on this dimly-lit road trying to identify the correct bus to board.
The least that the authorities can do is to ensure that these long-distance buses are parked in a systematic manner.
(Contributed by Dennis Marcus Mathew and G. Mahadevan)
