Interior streets in Thiruvengada Nagar lose their quiet as vehicles trundle in

Traffic on CTH Road has been diverted into the neighbourhood

TI School Road in Ambattur Photo: D. Madhavan

The charm of interior streets lies in the quiet they provide — that certainly has been the case with the interior streets in Thiruvengada Nagar, Ambattur Old Town (OT). That is, until recently.

Traffic changes effected to regulate vehicular movement on a section of CTH Road, after the lifting of lockdown restrictions, have brought unusual bustle to the neighbourhood.

As per the new arrangement, motorists take a left turn at an intersection on CTH Road to enter TI School Road near the narrow Road Over Bridge (ROB) in Ambattur to avoid traffic snarls. However, this arrangement means these motorists enter the interior streets of Thiruvengada Nagar.

“So, the quiet streets lanes are plunged into chaos especially during rush hour. Many motorists speed down these streets,” says S. Suresh, secretary, Thiruvengada Nagar Residents Welfare Association in Ambattur.

A few weeks ago, the State Highways Department, along with the traffic police, re-installed barricades at the intersection of the two stretches to prevent motorists coming from TI School Road in Thiruvengada Nagar from directly taking the right turn to reach CTH Road.

These motorists are instead allowed to take a ‘U’ turn away from the bridge to prevent accidents at the intersection. The ‘U’ turn is not of much help to motorists or in easing the traffic flow, and only adds to the chaos on CTH Road, say residents. They have suggested that traffic police personnel be deployed at least during rush hour to allow motorists from the neighbourhood to reach CTH Road directly via TI School Road rather than by taking the 'U' turn.

An important link

Built in the early 1970s, the bridge is 100 metres long and 30 feet wide and can allow two buses to travel simultaneously. Now, accidents have become more frequent on the bridge as the stretch leading to it and the bridge itself do not have safety indicators like reflectors to alert motorists at night. A large number of goods carriers from neighbouring districts including Tiruvallur and Vellore go through this stretch to reach the port.

“Steps will be taken to ease the traffic flow on CTH Road,” say police sources.