The traffic police rolled out a new traffic movement plan on Saturday to decongest Vyttila Junction, which has been witnessing snarls even after a six-lane flyover was commissioned a fortnight ago.
As per the plan, vehicles coming from Kadavanthra and wanting to cross over to the Thripunithura road or to the Vyttila Mobility Hub were redirected from the northern side of S.A. Road to the southern side. Barrels were placed to divide the lane on the southern side equally into two lanes, following which the redirected vehicles were allowed to proceed through what was earlier the fast track and those moving from other directions towards Kadavanthra were confined to the rest of the road width.
This smoothed traffic flow in the west-east direction, since motorists were otherwise being redirected through the Vyttila underpass and service roads to cross over to the other side. That used to cause much delay and hassles for motorists and pedestrians alike, said Francis Shelby, ACP of City Traffic Police (East), who supervised Saturday’s traffic rearrangement.
The plan worked out well and opened up more space for vehicles. Moreover, the queue of vehicles in different directions was limited to less than 100 m, as compared to much longer queues earlier. In addition, vehicles from the Kadavanthra side wanting to enter the Vyttila hub were redirected through the hub’s exit, after dividing the exit into two lanes by placing barrels. The two-way movement of vehicles too went on without hassles, except for a brief while when shoddily-placed overhead cables that came in the way of vehicles exiting the hub, had to be removed, he added.
Signal system
Saturday’s reforms will, in all probability, continue, after analysing traffic movement through the junction in the coming week. There was temporary relief to acute congestion caused by the bottlenecked space near the free-left turn on the Palarivattom side leading to the Vyttila Mobility Hub. A total of 18 police personnel were deployed to manually regulate traffic from Saturday noon to evening, following which the signal system was controlled manually. Automatic signalling will be reinstated after analysing the movement of vehicles in different directions, based on which signal timings in different directions would be reworked, said Mr. Shelby.
The police have also reminded the Public Works Department (NH wing) of the need to make alterations in the roundabout and a few traffic islands beneath the flyover’s central span. It will create more stocking space for vehicles, lessening the queue of vehicles and will bring about faster movement though the junction. The PWD has been told to do proper road markings such as stop-lines on the road to guide motorists.
TRURA demand
Meanwhile, the Thripunithura Rajanagari Union of Residents’ Associations (TRURA) has demanded easier access to the junction for vehicles coming from the Eroor side through the RSAC Road that begins from near the Vyttila hub.
