The State Government has announced that it plans to embark on a major road-widening project along Kamarajar Salai. This will involve taking land from some of the public institutions on the left, as you face north, and along the promenade by the beach. The reason for this is to make the road wider for motorists, namely expanding it into an eight-lane carriageway. At a time when countries all over the world are looking at encouraging public transport and reducing vehicular congestion, we seem to be stuck in our old ways.
On June 16 it was announced that around 12500 sq feet of park land abutting the beach and running from the Lighthouse to the Anna Memorial will be taken over to widen the present 23 metre road further, so as to accommodate the eight-lane carriageway. The statues on the stretch will all be shifted, probably temporarily, while the work is undertaken. The Queen Mary’s College will sacrifice some more land on its eastern and southern fronts to allow for easier traffic flow. With this, the State Government will embark on yet another exercise to placate private vehicle owners when its steps should be exactly in the opposite direction.
What is ironical is that the Chennai Metrorail project, which is held up as a celebration of sorts for public transport, and rightfully so, is progressing along the same beach front. In addition, the MRTS is also not very far away, running parallel to much of the beach. When such exemplars of public transport are present, and will hopefully soon see full patronage, why continue with encouraging private vehicle usage? This may be a never-ending exercise, for the city administration is not anywhere near taking steps to disincentivise private vehicles or at least see that they are contained in numbers to manageable levels.
Significantly, while the CMDA, which is the official planning body responsible for such things in our city is all for this, a former chief planner, as quoted in The Hindu, has expressed his reservations. He has opined that reckless road widening will only result in over-speeding, thereby causing accidents. This is true especially in a city such as ours where careless driving is increasingly the norm. Of course, the question arises, and this was a favourite query of the late Mr. S. Muthiah, that the same planner may not have been so forthright had he still been in service! Our officials too often acquire wisdom after they step down. Again, this is not true of everyone. Those in the CMDA however, seem all for the widening.
Kamarajar Salai is not alone in this exercise. A similar project is to be taken up along Gandhi Mandapam Road where the memorial area is to lose a lot of its land. A whole lot of public institutions such as the IIT, Anna University, the CLRI and the AC College will lose land as well, just to suit private vehicle owners. And this exercise will be repeated a few years later we are sure, and will recur at regular intervals until all available land is used up. But vehicles will not cease increasing in number will they? It is high time the city administration begins to look at problems with a long-term perspective. The era of flyovers and road widening has long ended in all other parts of the world. Chennai, for all its professed goal of wanting to become Singapore, and sometimes claiming to be on its way, needs to wake up to ground reality. Solutions need to be long lasting and not till the next elections are held.