Sidewalk remains a pipe dream on Kodambakkam High Road

Heading on to the Kodambakkam High Road from the flyover near Arcot Road, one could immediately spot the pathetic conditions, with pavements completely out of the picture. In some parts of the road, there are raised platforms – which by any stretch of imagination – could not be described as a ‘pavement’. On one small stretch of the road, which had commercial units, a tiny pavement could be found – functioning more as a storefront than a pedestrian pathway.

Pedestrians using this stretch of the road, have to walk on the carriageway most of the time, as the bits of the platform has been taken over by a motley crew of street vendors or invaded by vehicles. At one point of the road, a Greater Chennai Corporation waste bin takes up space on the side of the road, where the pavement is conspicuous by its absence. The stench of the bin forces many to take the road, navigating through the zooming vehicles. 

At one part of the road, the pavement has an open junction box with wires outside, posing a huge risk for the footpath users. In fact, across the city, pedestrians have to put-up with ill-designed footpaths, with utilities like junction boxes or other infrastructure, forcing them to get off at one point and walk on the road, before resuming their journey on the pavement. In order to encourage more people to ditch their vehicles, well-designed footpaths are critical. 

At Jai Venkateshwara Medicals in Kamarajapuram, a line of street vendors selling clay pots have taken over the pedestrian space. This is not the only spot. Just outside the Corporation Park on the other side, there are rows of colourful clay flower pots, arranged neatly on the pavement. The designed pots have been showcased on the walls of the park. At regular periods, customers, interested in purchasing their wares from these shops, stop their car in the middle of the road and start haggling with the vendors. In fact, this has resulted in repeated traffic congestions, especially during peak hours. 

Outside a shop called Rayagiri’s near the park, a line of bicycles and motorbikes are parked on the pavement. Just outside the store, the skeleton of a life-sized serial light set-up of a deity, made of fairy lights, used for temple festivals, is under construction. A few yards away, there is a 

bus stop with most of the passengers waiting on the road until their bus arrives.

These are not the only factors behind the encroachment of the city pavements. Dumping household and green waste has taken up a portion of the pavement near Muthumariamman Temple, obstructing the pavement users and turning this space into a parking area for trucks. If the Corporation wants to implement its non-motorised transport policy, it is high time that the city’s pavements got the focus they deserve from the authorities.