CHENNAI: Disappearing footpaths and runaway growth in the number of vehicles have made life difficult for pedestrians in Chennai. According to a city traffic police study, 42 per cent of road accidents involve pedestrians.
Lack of footpaths, pedestrian subways and foot overbridges on arterial roads and intersections contributes to increasing number of accidents involving pedestrians. Apart from encroachments, transformers and boxes of the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board and junction boxes of telecom service providers nudge people off footpaths and onto the roads.
The state highways department and the city corporation conducted a joint survey to identify obstructions on footpaths such as transformers, telephone or electricity junction boxes and small trees on arterial roads including Anna Salai, EVR Periyar Salai, Jawaharlal Nehru Salai, Dr Radhakrishnan Salai and Nungambakkam High Road. However, the problem in shifting the TNEB boxes is that they have to be opened on either side and placed in a corner in the same position. “In most places, there is no alternative place to locate the transformers and junction boxes. Hence, we have decided to relocate the transformers wherever possible to give pedestrians adequate room,” the official said.
Traffic planners have been insensitive to the safety of walkers, and the authorities are turning a blind eye to ongoing violations that jeopardise pedestrian safety, said T. Shanmugham, a resident of T Nagar. N. Lalitha, of Royapuram, said a pedestrian subway in Tondiarpet has been closed for the past few years. “This is the only subway in the whole of north Chennai but it is locked,” she said, urging the city corporation to look into the issue immediately and put it to public use.
Chennai-based activist V. Gopalakrishnan points out that though the traffic density is very high on Jawaharlal Nehru Salai, the 25-km-long road does have even a single pedestrian subway or foot overbridge. “The state highways department proposed subways at seven places on Jawaharlal Nehru Salai including opposite the Koyambedu bus terminus, near CIPET in Guindy Industrial Estate, near Kasi Theatre, near Udhayam Theatre, at Ekkattuthangal, near MMDA junction, and between Ashok Pillar and the signal near Police Training College. Another foot overbridge was planned at SBOA school junction near Anna Nagar West bus depot. But all these remain only on paper,” he said.
A senior state highway department official said steps are being taken to start pending pedestrian subway projects on Jawaharlal Nehru Salai (seven locations), Anna Salai (six locations) and EVR Periyar Salai (six locations) very soon. “The projects could not be taken up due to ongoing Metro Rail work,” he explained.
Lack of footpaths, pedestrian subways and foot overbridges on arterial roads and intersections contributes to increasing number of accidents involving pedestrians. Apart from encroachments, transformers and boxes of the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board and junction boxes of telecom service providers nudge people off footpaths and onto the roads.
The state highways department and the city corporation conducted a joint survey to identify obstructions on footpaths such as transformers, telephone or electricity junction boxes and small trees on arterial roads including Anna Salai, EVR Periyar Salai, Jawaharlal Nehru Salai, Dr Radhakrishnan Salai and Nungambakkam High Road. However, the problem in shifting the TNEB boxes is that they have to be opened on either side and placed in a corner in the same position. “In most places, there is no alternative place to locate the transformers and junction boxes. Hence, we have decided to relocate the transformers wherever possible to give pedestrians adequate room,” the official said.
Traffic planners have been insensitive to the safety of walkers, and the authorities are turning a blind eye to ongoing violations that jeopardise pedestrian safety, said T. Shanmugham, a resident of T Nagar. N. Lalitha, of Royapuram, said a pedestrian subway in Tondiarpet has been closed for the past few years. “This is the only subway in the whole of north Chennai but it is locked,” she said, urging the city corporation to look into the issue immediately and put it to public use.
Chennai-based activist V. Gopalakrishnan points out that though the traffic density is very high on Jawaharlal Nehru Salai, the 25-km-long road does have even a single pedestrian subway or foot overbridge. “The state highways department proposed subways at seven places on Jawaharlal Nehru Salai including opposite the Koyambedu bus terminus, near CIPET in Guindy Industrial Estate, near Kasi Theatre, near Udhayam Theatre, at Ekkattuthangal, near MMDA junction, and between Ashok Pillar and the signal near Police Training College. Another foot overbridge was planned at SBOA school junction near Anna Nagar West bus depot. But all these remain only on paper,” he said.
A senior state highway department official said steps are being taken to start pending pedestrian subway projects on Jawaharlal Nehru Salai (seven locations), Anna Salai (six locations) and EVR Periyar Salai (six locations) very soon. “The projects could not be taken up due to ongoing Metro Rail work,” he explained.
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