Pedestrians crossing Grand Southern Trunk Road at Vandalur, near a famous temple have to do so at their own risk. Lack of pedestrian signals on this section of the arterial road ups the risk quotient for those crossing it on shankâs mare. It takes a minimum of five minutes to cross the stretch, which teems with vehicular traffic.
Pedestrians can often be seen crossing this section dodging oncoming vehicles. As there are no signals for pedestrians, it is a nightmarish situation, says S. Sharanya, a college-student.
There is a continuous movement of vehicular traffic and much of it is constituted by heavy vehicles. The motorists do not halt or slow down for the pedestrians to cross.
Despite signalling to the motorists to halt, they swerve left and right and zoom past the hapless pedestrians.
The lanes in the carriageway towards Vandalur Zoo and West Tambaram are wide which encourages motorists to step on the gas.
The nearest pedestrian crossing is either the intersection of GST Road and Nethaji Street, Kamaraj Nagar, Perungalathur, or the one near the intersection of GST Road and Vandalur-Kelambakkam Road, which is quite a distance away.
After sunset, it is very difficult to cross this stretch as a large number of heavy vehicles proceed towards the southern districts, says R. Ashok, a pedestrian.
When contacted, the police authorities concerned said steps would be taken soon to create a pedestrian signal at the region.