The Grand Southern Trunk Road that connects the city’s suburbs with various towns in the southern districts is becoming congested by the day with pedestrians and users of public transport suffering the most. This is due to the haphazard parking by share auto and maxi-cab drivers on the stretch from Vandalur to Chengalpattu.
Commuters said that with autorickshaws and maxi-cabs blocking the movement of Metropolitan Transport Corporation and Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation buses and other vehicles, the six-laned road near the Guduvanchery bus terminus was a picture of chaos most times of the day.
Pedestrians said that they had repeatedly demanded the relocation of the autorickshaws and maxi-cabs but the traffic police had not taken any action. Several students and office-goers use the stretch to reach other neighbourhoods.
“We only have a small space to walk. Sometimes, impatient pedestrians rush across the busy stretch, which results in accidents. Once the autorickshaws and maxi cabs are relocated, more space will be available for road users,” said S. Jayachandran, a resident of Nandivaram.
Hundreds of commuters, including long-distance travellers arriving from the railway station, board buses from the stretch.
On an average, at least 50,000 commuters use the public transport facility every day. However, the issue of haphazard parking affects many of them, especially in places such as Guduvanchery, Maraimalai Nagar and Singaperumal Koil.
Because of the parking of autorickshaws next to the bus bay, the total width of the stretch is considerably reduced, leading to traffic chaos. According to police sources, traffic is chaotic near the bus stops and the width of the road is considerably reduced because of haphazard parking of these vehicles.
