Chennai Citizen Connect: Crossing under Pallavaram flyover a challenge to pedestrians

CHENNAI: With a constant flow of vehicles, the lack of signals and the absence of police personnel to regulate traffic have become a common issue in the city.

The commuters at Pallavaram demand either a traffic signal or a police constable to manage the traffic at the pedestrian crossing beneath the Pallavaram flyover.

The crossing for pedestrians is near the Pallavaram bus stop located on the Grand Southern Trunk (GST) Road towards Tambaram.

Several commuters use the pedestrian crossing as it connects them to the post office, bus stop, and other locations on either side. However, as there is no traffic cop to regulate the traffic the pedestrians find it difficult to cross the roads.

“As the vehicles keep moving on both sides of the GST Road, the pedestrians’ lives are at risk. Especially, elderly people are at high risk as they end up regulating the vehicles on their own while crossing the GST Road,” said Vishwanathan, an activist from Chromepet.

The residents also pointed out that there is a subway to navigate to the other side of the road, but the elderly people prefer pedestrian crossing as they cannot climb the stairs in the subway.

The residents and commuters stressed that this crossing must not be closed and personnel should always be present to regulate the vehicles, as it is located on the national highway. However, police sources said we have urged the public to use the subway, and discussions are under way to remove the pedestrian crossing. It is to be noted that there are no traffic inspectors for Tambaram and Pallavaram sections.