One of the important thoroughfares in the city, Pattabiraman Road, has been posing grave risk to motorists and pedestrians due to the huge increase in volume of vehicular traffic on this vital link between Tennur and the Annal Gandhi Memorial Government Hospital over the past five years.
Mushrooming apartments on both sides of the road in recent years, increase in the number of commercial units, particularly two-wheeler service units, which almost function as a cluster in the road have obstructed free flow of traffic.
The problem has been compounded by the entry of mofussil buses from places such as Karur, Salem, Erode, Puducherry and Coimbatore, which pass through the road, to reach Central Bus Stand in the city.
High-rise buildings at the entry point on the road obstruct the visibility of heavy vehicle drivers posing a huge risk to road users.
Workshops
Numerous small two wheeler workshops have been operating in the road for almost two decades.
Left with no alternative, they utilise the platform and road edges to park the vehicles of clients. Some of the shops measure just 10 feet by five feet. Congestion at the western end of the road is higher as ambulances and other vehicles are parked beside a private hospital.
This part is prone to accidents, police say, adding that despite registration of petty cases, two-wheeler mechanics keep parking vehicles on the road, violating road safety norms.
The police put up makeshift barricades to prevent accidents. “But, often the barricades are cleared by the City Corporation,” police sources say.
