Pedestrians out on a limb

Liffy Thomas on three major intersections that sorely need a pedestrian signal

Traffic congession at Rajiv Gandhi Salai near Tidel Park. Photo: R. Ragu

Tidel Park junction, Rajiv Gandhi Salai Be alert when you are driving past the Tidel Park junction. You may have to slam the brakes anytime. Ask any motorist who has ever come from SRP Tools and driven towards Jayanthi signal. He’d surely have been faced with droves of people crossing the road recklessly dodging vehicles.

In the absence of a pedestrian crossing, crossing the roads here is extremely unsafe. Pedestrians too are not careful while crossing the road. When a few dart across the road throwing caution to the wind, others follow suit .

Their argument is that it takes five to eight minutes to cross this junction if one were to wait at each of the signals.

There are four roads that converge at this crucial junction that is visited by thousand of vehicles to reach Madhya Kailash, Adyar, ECR, Sholinganallur, Velachery and Tambaram. In the absence of a pedestrian crossing, pedestrians are left to fend for themselves.

The foot-over bridge which connects Thiruvanmiyur MRTS station to the Tidel Park bus stop only helps a small section of the people using this road.

Vijay Nagar signal, Velachery

This junction is visited by a huge volume of vehicles going to Tambaram, Taramani and the by-pass road, making it a Herculean task for pedestrians to cross the stretch.

There are no pedestrian signals.

Making matters worse for the pedestrians are are haphazardly parked autorickshaws and two-wheelers.

Subha, who regularly uses the stretch, says she has written many a time to the traffic police at the junction asking them to manage the chaos but nothing has come out these efforts. “School children travelling by cycles are the main victims; they do not know how to negotiate the stretch during rush hour,” says Subha.

Near Hale and Healthy Hospital junction, East Coast Road The junctions on East Coast Road seem to be better off than those in other areas as they have traffic signals or a policeman managing the traffic. There are exceptions though. None of these junctions on ECR – near the Hale and Healthy Hospital junction, Neelankarai, Palavakkam and Kottivakkam – has a pedestrian signal. The road is narrow here, increasing the risk of accidents.