The ‘’U’ turn-based traffic system introduced by the police on the arterial Avinashi Road in Coimbatore has significantly reduced deaths of pedestrians, according to the City Police.
Coimbatore City Police Commissioner V. Balakrishnan said on Friday that pedestrian deaths on Avinashi Road fell from 12 in 2022 to one in the current year.
The police introduced the ‘U’ turn system on the key road by deactivating traffic signals at 27 places from Uppilipalayam to Chinniyampalayam. The police created ‘U’ turns at 23 locations.
The Commissioner said the present system was ensuring smooth flow of traffic along Avinashi Road, besides controlling speeding. The police were assisting pedestrians to cross the road at key locations. Vehicles heading to the airport, railway station and hospitals were not facing delays unlike before as they did not have to wait for signals, he said.
“Of course there are minor issues in the present arrangement that require fine-tuning. Traffic officials will inspect the stretch and make corrections that are needed,” said Mr. Balakrishnan.
According to the Commissioner, ambulances are able to transport patients to hospitals via Avinashi Road quicker than before. “The response time of 108 ambulance services on the road was 11.22 minutes before. After the introduction of ‘U’ turns, it has been reduced to 7.22 minutes”, he said.
Apart from introducing the ‘U’ turns on Avinashi Road, the police created seven roundabouts in the city where traffic was regulated with signals earlier.
Mr. Balakrishnan, G. Manuneethi, Divisional Engineer (road safety), Coimbatore circle, and traffic police officers inspected Avinashi Road on Friday evening. The police have plans to install pelican signal systems near the PSGR Krishnammal College for Women and Varadharaja Mills bus stop soon to enable pedestrians to cross the road without trouble. Pelican signal systems allow pedestrians to operate the signal for road crossing.
Earlier in the day, Mr. Balakrishnan released a short video titled ‘Green Circles in Coimbatore’ which is about the roundabouts and ‘U’ turns on Avinashi road.
