An exercise to increase safety is under way on a section of Jawaharlal Nehru Main Road. Between the intersection at MMDA and the one at Vadapalani, the height of the concrete median is being raised.
The exercise, which began a fortnight ago, seeks to prevent pedestrians from stepping over the median and crossing the road at undesignated points. The median is being raised to a height of four feet. The work is said to have been fast-tracked.
“Pedestrians have been taking advantage of the low median to cross the road. Often, such pedestrians catch motorists by surprise, and the latter would have to slam on the brakes. There have been cases of motorcyclists skidding due to such situations,” says B. Naveen, a resident of Vadapalani.
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At present, pedestrian-crossings on J.N. Main Road are at major intersections including Ashok Pillar, Vadapalani junction, MMDA and CMBT bus terminus traffic spots. Pedestrians have to cross the road at these intersections but to save time, many throw caution to the wind and cross the road using the low median.
As traffic police personnel are largely deployed at the intersections, pedestrians do this, with impunity. Besides, many MTC bus-stops are located on this road. And by trying not to miss the bus, pedestrians violate road safety rules.
It may be noted that after the opening of the flyover at Vadapalani junction in November 2016, MTC buses skipped the flyover to be able to halt at the stops found on both service lanes of J.N. Main Road.
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However, following a news report in The Hindu Downtown in December 2016 about this, MTC directed its crew to take the flyover.
“The work on raising the height of the median will be completed in a month,” says a State Highways official.