Motorists frequenting the intersection of North Gate Terminus Road and Suriya Narayanan Salai in Tollgate-Kasimedu have sought traffic signals on the section.
There is a sense of urgency in this demand which motorists have placed before the Chennai Traffic Police. Here’s why: At this busy intersection, drivers of Metropolitan Transport Corporation buses route numbers from Thiruvottiyur take a free right turn to proceed towards Royapuram to the dismay of motorists coming from Ennore and Kasimedu.
For their part, motorists from Tollgate, Minjur and Kasimedu speed and overtake each other on this section.
Traffic police personnel are deployed at the intersection. However, in the absence of traffic signals, their presence seem to amount only to a hill of beans, say motorists.
In the absence of a zebra crossing and a pedestrian signal, we have no option but to dart from one side to the other, braving oncoming vehicular traffic or run alongside vehicle users crossing the intersection, say pedestrians.
“As it enables access to many localities in the region, including Kasimedu, Ennore, Royapuram, Minjur and Thiruvottiyur, the intersection is busy for most part of the day. Trailers and container trucks pass through this section,” says R. Pradeep, a long-time resident of Royapuram, said.
Given the volume of heavy vehicles passing through the intersection every day, steps should be taken at the earliest to make the signals functional, say motorists.