In the United States, they are crossing guards. In the United Kingdom, they are lollipop men/ ladies. Never mind what nomenclature they go by, but we need them on Old Mahabalipuram Road — badly. In the West, the typical role of a lollipop man is to help school students cross busy roads safely. If he were to be transferred to OMR for a day, his role would be coaxing grown-ups, mostly employees of IT companies lining the stretch, into crossing the busy road at designated points, more specifically encourage them to use the foot over bridges (FOBs).
Those who avoid these FOBs argue that they are few and far between, but this argument hangs on a tenuous thread. For, many of them cross the road right under an FOB. There is photographic evidence supporting our point of view (see pic).
From Madhya Kailash to Siruseri, there are 14 FOBs, but a majority of them are hardly used. Some of them are indeed distant from the nearest bus stop. But there are cases of commuters ignoring FOBs located close to a bus stop. Kandanchavadi is a classic example of pedestrians not using the bridge although it almost cheek by jowl with the bus stop.
Now, the practical details.
Where should the lollipop men and lollipop ladies come from?
As a positive sign, some residents of OMR favour creation of such a safety corps and are keen on wearing the famous fluorescent green clothes and wielding the lollipop-shaped ‘stop’ signboards, themselves.
Ravi Kumar, a resident of Ceebros Boulevard, a gated community in Thoraipakkam, was the one who suggested the idea of lollipop men for OMR. He seemed to favour residents of OMR helming the initiative, offering resources of time and manpower. While that offer is commendable, the larger responsibility should be shouldered by the IT companies on OMR.
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