Commuters flay traffic control measures on R S Puram roads

Coimbatore: A slew of traffic control measures implemented by the highways department and the police at R S Puram, the commercial hub of the city, has led to chaos.
The changes made on the three main roads are leading to traffic pile-ups and parking problems. While the police blame the highways department for closing the gap between road dividers and placing additional speed breakers, the department says they did it as per the police’s requests to reduce accidents.

Two weeks ago, commuters from Selvapuram, Poosaripalayam, Sundapalayam and Telugupalayam who drive down Thadagam Road to access D B Road or Mettupalayam Road through a turn into Arockiasamy Road were shocked to find the way blocked. A few days later, they were surprised to see the gap open, but smaller in size. “The highways department closed the divider. We approached them and removed a small portion,” said a traffic cop.

The divider on Thadagam Road, which had many openings, allowed commuters to turn directly into Venkataswamy Road and Periyasamy Road. However, after work began to install a traffic signal on the Aavin Junction, all the openings were closed, forcing commuters to drive upto Lawley Road Junction and take a U-turn to access the bylanes of R S Puram.

“While the Lawley Road Junction gets congested during peak hours, vehicles in the first lane often have to wait out two signals to take U-turn,” said Shanthini Shah, a jewellery shop employee staying at Poosaripalayam and working on D B Road.

The divider on Mettupalayam Road, which had gaps, allowing vehicles to access Brookebond Road and Avinashi Road Flyover by turning into Shanmuga Theatre Road or Devanga High Road Road, has been closed off. As a result, vehicles have to drive upto the beginning of the Lokmany Street, take a U-turn and drive back to turn into Deva High School Road to access Brookebond Road.

Arockiasamy Road West, which is already a narrow road, now has a 50m-long stone divider. As the stretch has several shops along it, parking has become impossible.

“This was to prevent frequent traffic jams on Arockiasamy and DB Road Junction, which also has the Vinayagar Temple,” said a police officer. “We are studying the effectiveness of the measures and will revise them if required,” he told TOI.

Commuters, however, are disturbed by the changes on the roads, which affect their daily routes. “Every day we see a new change. At first, they placed new speed breakers. Now they are blocking gaps on dividers, making us drive longer distances and suffer through traffic pile-ups,” said Shankari R, a commuter.