Citizen Connect: Reckless drivers, lack of traffic signal pose danger to pedestrians on JN Road under Padi flyover

After construction of the flyover at the busy intersection of Jawaharlal Nehru (JN) Road and Chennai-Tiruvallur High (CTH) Road in 2009, pedestrians in need to cross the road face the danger of being hit by speeding vehicles as there is no traffic signal or policemen to help them.

With the flyover facilitating free movement of vehicles from CTH Road without waiting for a signal at the junction, the vehicles travelling along the JN Road goes beneath the flyover. “The vehicle movement is heavy throughout the day. It is particularly difficult to cross the road during peak hours and after the sunset,” said S Saravanan, who works at a private company in Padi. He said that he usually takes MTC bus from Puzhal to Padi to commute.

“During rush hours, pedestrians have to stop the motorists so that they could cross the road. Often, motorists do not wait till the senior citizens cross the road, which has resulted in accidents,” said T Gunasekaran, a resident of Villivakkam and a regular commuter on the stretch.

John Joseph, an autorickshaw driver at the junction said that accidents involving pedestrians are frequent at the intersection. “Mostly, accidents happen when it is dark. The light from the high mast lamp below the flyover hardly falls on the stretch,” he said.

The autorickshaw driver said that the movement of the pedestrians has gone up after opening a famous retail store at the Padi. “Earlier, mostly of the people using the MTC stand here were employees of the nearby private companies. Now, people visiting the retail store also use the bus stand,” he said, adding that a traffic signal should be installed beneath the flyover to facilitate safe movement of pedestrians. “But a permanent solution will be to construction a pedestrian subway,” he said.

An official of the State Highways Department said that the pedestrian movement on the road is not high enough to construct a subway or foot over bridge.