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(ARCHIVE) Vol. XXI No. 2, May 1-15, 2011
World-class roads planned
But will they measure up in reality?
(By The Editor)

The Corporation has announced a plan to make at least 50 important roads world-class. The selected roads will become traffic corridors that will connect various parts of the city and make commuting a comfortable experience. But much will depend on whether the Corporation can convert such highly laudable plans into actual reality.

On paper it all sounds very good. The roads will have pedestrian facilities and will also be disabled-friendly. Digging for various services will be banned, with provision for separate ducts for running cables. Bus routes will be separately marked out to prevent intermixing of heavy, medium and small sized vehicles. All this, says the Corporation, will ensure that the average vehicular speed will go up from the 21 kmph it is today.

Will all this happen? The answer to that depends on the stakeholders – the Corporation, the police, the vehicle-users and the pedestrians themselves. The Corporation will do well to look at the experience of the IT Corridor (Rajiv Gandhi Expressway) where much of this was promised but never got implemented beyond the initial three kilometres. There is also the issue of using quality raw material in the construction of these roads, thereby preventing frequent road-works and relaying of the macadam. There can be no denying that a major cause for traffic delays at present is the digging up of roads on some pretext or the other.

How can international class roads help in reducing commuting time when we as road-users lack any form of discipline? If lane-changing and jaywalking are rampant, can our traffic improve in any way? It is a fact that most of our roads today need to have wide medians in order to prevent vehicles on both sides of the divide from straying to the other side. If there is a certain amount of discipline, these medians would even become superfluous and may allow for more road space. Also, if only pedestrians insist on using zebra crossings, vehicle-users would be compelled to halt to allow them to pass. This too would improve road discipline.

Another issue is that of parking. Perhaps the time has come for the police to insist on proper parking laws with hefty fines for violation. Haphazard parking is a major factor in slowing our traffic. Another cause for slow traffic movements is the lack of coordination between traffic lights at successive signals. This is something that the police needs to look into.

The Corporation is talking of going ahead with its plans once the electoral code-of-conduct ceases to be in effect. But it should also take into account the major projects that are going on at present – the Metro-Rail and the elevated corridor along Poonamallee High Road. It will need to arrive at a holistic plan taking these activities into account if it is to ensure minimum disruption.

If the Corporation can achieve an integrated solution with the others, it will have a winner of a project on its hands.


In this issue

Restoration underway
World-class roads planned
An outstanding 'snake-man'
Ravi Varma - Making a name for himself in Madras
Maria Montessori recalled
Other stories

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