: The traffic congestion that starts at the north and south ends on D.B. Road at R.S. Puram reaches a denouement on D.B. Road-T.V. Samy Road junction where the Coimbatore Corporation had removed the traffic signal.
As a first step towards solving the problem the Corporation should restore the traffic signal, said councillor A. Alagu Jayabalan.
D.B. Road, as it is known today, was often referred to as 80 Feet Road. But it was no longer so as the Corporation had reduced the carriage way while redesigning road as a model road under the Smart Cities Mission project.
While there was no issue with the project per se, the way the Corporation had executed the model road work had caused the problem that people using the road experienced.
The width of the pedestrian pathway on the road was more than what was required. The increase in width was the reason for the reduction in carriageway, which was now not more than 50 feet. And as vehicles moved towards the junction, the congestion increased because of the way the Corporation had redesigned it, Mr. Jayabalan reiterated and called for undoing some of the changes made.
Sarfaraz S. Yaseen, urban planner, said the Corporation should also remove the cobbled stones paved at the junction as it was one of the reasons for the congestion. The Corporation could either give an asphalt coating or use shot-blasted concrete pave blocks as they had aesthetic appeal and provided the necessary grip for safe passage of vehicles.
R. Shanthakumar, a resident of R.S.Puram, said the Corporation’s failure in streamlining parking was only adding to the congestion on the road. The Corporation should also take steps to restore the traffic signal at the junction.
District Road Safety Committee member K. Kathirmathiyon said the Corporation that had removed the signal to execute the model road work should have restored it upon completion, for removal or installation of signal should be done only with the Committee’s consent.
Another problem that residents and shopkeepers on D.B. Road and those driving through it faced was inundation. The Corporation claimed to have constructed drain for rain water to flow but it was not happening.
Mr. Yaseen, who was actively involved in the model road design project, said the saucer drain was very much present on the road margins but for those to effectively carry the run-off water, the Corporation should clean those of silt and waste.
The Corporation sources said they would look into the issue.
