The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), which collects hefty toll from motorists using the 16-km Edappally-Aroor NH Bypass, is facing flak for shoddy space utilisation in the corridor, what with the areas earmarked as service roads having more width than the bypass at many locations.
Unscientific entry points to the bypass and the location of bus stops and pedestrian crossings in close proximity to the entry points create blind spots for motorists, together making for a deadly cocktail, confided sources in the traffic police. “Such unscientifically designed entry points see traffic hold-ups almost all through the day. Bus stops and pedestrian crossing zones ought to be built a little away from such entry points,” they added.
The worst part is that foot overbridges that the NHAI has built at five pedestrian-dense areas are very steep and do not have escalators, leaving them with little patronage. That they do not have lights makes using them risky after dusk.
“Among the most problematic and accident-prone junctions on the bypass is the one at Panangad, where confusion reigns supreme, since vehicles from side roads are permitted direct entry into the bypass. They are most often allotted more time to cross the junction, all the while holding up traffic in either direction on the bypass. Widening the carriageway by adding unused space from service roads will help lessen queues of vehicles held up in the corridor,” said a Chertala native who commutes in the corridor almost daily to his workplace in Kochi.
A traffic planner with the National Transportation Planning and Research Centre (NATPAC) spoke of how traffic hold-ups and accidents at U-turns on the stretch could be lessened if space is carved out of medians to accommodate the row of vehicles waiting to take U-turn. Similarly, the NHAI must hew out space wherever possible, to create bus bays to prevent buses occupying a full lane when they halt at stops, he said.
