Ever since a couple of large textile showrooms sprang up on West Boulevard Road near Main Guard Gate, the stretch has become one of the busiest in Tiruchi. And mushrooming of such commerical outlets has inevitably led to severe traffic congestion on the road.
Now, West Boulevard Road has been forced to cater not only to regular public and private vehicles, but also ensure space for a growing number of shoppers and pedestrians. Since there are no dedicated pavements, they no option but to walk on the busy road amid fast moving traffic.
What’s more, in the absence of tactile pavements, there have been instances of the visually impaired losing grip and falling down. Any surprise then that road users, shoppers and pedestrians have been clamouring for a solution to their plight.
So, Tiruchi Corporation has now come up with the idea of pedestrian pavements along West Boulevard Road that are also user-friendly for the visually impaired.
The grievances of all stakeholders — shopkeepers, shoppers, road users, visually challenged — have been factored in by the Corporation before embarking on the project. Interestingly, it is a major component of the ₹7.5-crore smart drain project being implemented under the Smart City Mission.
Under the project, a km-long pedestrian pavements have been envisaged on either side of West Boulevard Road starting from Main Guard Gate. Tiles will be laid on a 3,000-sq mt area on the east and west side of the road. The pedestrian path will have a width of 3.1 metre.
Sources say laying of pavement blocks has almost been completed to a distance of about 300 metres from Main Guard Gate to R.R. Sabha. Small pillars have also been erected along the pavement to prevent parking of auto rickshaws and four-wheelers.
An important feature is the tactile paving for the visually impaired running in the middle of the pavements. The yellow-coloured textured surface tiles will prevent prevent them from skidding or falling, a senior official of the Corporation told The Hindu .
