The Thiruvananthapuram City police have launched a slew of measures to ensure pedestrian safety and rein in the growing number of fatalities on roads. The measures include curbing the practice of jaywalking, a prime reason for accidents involving pedestrians.
The police have begun erecting dividers on busy and accident-prone roads in various parts of the city including Kesavadasapuram, Pattom, Kaimanam and East Fort. Continuous barriers are being constructed at considerable heights to prevent pedestrians from crossing over them. In order to prevent the pedestrians from walking long distances, zebra crossings will be established at regular intervals and on intersections.
The construction of dividers at Pattom will coincide with that of the foot overbridge in front of St. Mary’s Higher Secondary School, being undertaken by the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation.
Along the National Highway–66 stretch, the work has been launched at Kaimanam and will be extended along further stretches until Pallichal, according to Assistant Commissioner of Police (Traffic - South), M.K. Zulfiqer. The work would be completed by the end of the month.
Sealing medians
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order, Traffic) R. Aadhithya said the efforts to ‘seal’ medians were taken up to ensure safe pedestrian movement. “Very often, pedestrians cross the roads from undesignated points, thereby endangering their own lives and that of the oncoming motorists,” he said.
He added that steps have been initiated to establish pedestrian fencing along the busy roads in the city. The Public Works Department has been entrusted with undertaking a field study on busy stretches.
The move was necessitated by the rampant practice of parking vehicles on footpaths, often forcing pedestrians of walk on roads. Two-wheelers zipping down the footpaths at Pattom, Marappalam, Kaithamukku and other stretches to avoid getting caught in traffic snarls was a common sight.
While the PWD has had its hands tied of late with the post-flood repair works, the City police expressed optimism that they would be able to the commence work without much delay.
