With a signal remaining out of service for quite some time and no traffic police personnel around to regulate movement of motorists, the narrow triangular junction in Mangadu has become extremely unfriendly to motorists and pedestrians.
The absence of speed-breakers and zebra-crossing adds to the danger faced by them.
At this junction, where Mount Poonamalle Road, Poonamalle High Road and Kundrathur-Mangadu Road intersect, the flow of traffic is almost continuous, largely due to the presence of schools and temples in the vicinity. In addition, there are termini of the Metropolitan Transport Corporation: at Poonamallee, Kundrathur and Iyyapanthangal.
So, a good number of MTC buses are operated through the intersection. During festival seasons and weekends, chaos reigns at the junction. Therefore, the intersection has to be brought under CCTV surveillance, say residents. At night, the intersection is even more unsafe as the number of street lights there is inadequate. Pedestrians are also put to great inconvenience as the footpaths have been encroached upon by vendors and commercial establishments. And people end up walking on the carriageway. “We have to wait for quite some time to cross the junction, It is all the more difficult for senior citizens,” says S. Mariappan, a resident of Porur. Frequent accidents have been reported at the intersection.
“Steps will be taken to install a traffic signal and remove encroachments at the junction,” says a State Highways official.
