‘Proposed flyover works should continue’

The Union Budget announcement this year about Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) in tier-two cities has raised expectations about Coimbatore getting a Metro project soon.

However, this should not affect the proposed projects that aim at easing traffic congestion within the city, says K. Kathirmathiyon, secretary of Coimbatore Consumer Cause.

For instance, the National Highways wing of the State Highways Department has proposed flyovers at Singanallur, Ganapathy and on Mettupalayam Road. These projects should be implemented at the earliest to avoid traffic snarls, he said.

The Highways Department officials said they continued to pursue the projects as some of these areas had been identified as accident prone. Mr. Kathirmathiyon suggested that while the district needed a Metro project, it should be looked at to connect the peripheral areas and the city.

As the city expands, nearby areas would soon emerge as active commercial hubs. These needed better mass transport connectivity. The Metro alignment should consider networking these areas with the city, he said.

Further, if the MRTS was implemented in the Corporation limits, the motorable space available on main roads such as Avinashi Road would be just one lane and it would be inadequate. The alignment suggested now for the Metro project was not feasible and would not serve its purpose, he said.

Coimbatore district required wider roads, flyovers, and MRTS too. Since there were several infrastructure projects proposed already to decongest the city traffic, the Metro should focus on the peripheral areas, he said.