Speaking at a symposium on security awareness at the Technopark campus here in June, 2009, State Police Chief Jacob Punnose had said that the biggest prevalent threat to the almost 30,000 employees of the State's Information Technology hub was the painful process of commuting along the congested Chakka-Kazhakuttam corridor.
The observation he made three years ago holds true for a significant section of the Technopark employees who face the ordeal daily.
One says that a motorist could change his vehicle's tyres on the national highway by-pass without losing his place in the lane. Extended traffic snarls during the rush hours seem to have become the bane of motorists, a large section of them IT professionals, traversing the stretch.
Traffic congestion on the Chakka-Pettah road that links the city with the international airport, Technopark, Indian Space Research Organisation, Titanium, Veli railway station, and the industrial park there is equally worse. A Technopark employee says that traffic moves almost at a snail pace along the stretch between 5.30 p.m. and 9 p.m.
A traffic enforcer says that prohibiting the entry of goods vehicles into the city during rush hours would alleviate the congestion a bit.
According to the police, more than 4,000 goods vehicles, including multi-axle trucks transporting newly made cars, enter the capital through the Amaravila check-post daily. Most of them are bound for various markets, construction sites, and automobile showrooms on either side of the by-pass. The traffic volume in the city exceeded its existing road space by more than 200 per cent. Cargo trucks during rush hours would only compound the congestion.
A traffic expert points out that flyovers, underpasses, foot over-bridges, and scientifically redesigned traffic roundabouts will help ease the congestion in the long run.
