Subways and busy junctions on Chennai’s arterial roads are set to get a makeover to ensure the safety of pedestrians and motorists.
Minister for Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) P.K. Sekarbabu said the detailed project report would be completed shortly.
The CMDA conducted a study of the subways on arterial roads such as Anna Salai, EVR Periyar Salai, and Rajaji Salai near LIC, Shanthi Theatre, DMS, Chennai Beach Station, Central Railway Station, Thousand Lights, Saidapet, Nungambakkam, and Guindy.
Pedestrians are voicing concern over the safety and upkeep of the walkways and the subways. Residents are calling for urgent improvement, citing poor lighting and drainage and lack of markings.
Jumping signal
D. Jagadeeshwaran, 49, of Ambattur voices concern over pedestrian safety at the traffic signals. “When the walk signals turn green, most vehicles stop, but some speed through. This could lead to accidents. It is very important for all vehicles to halt when the pelican signal turns green,” he says. S. Nandheeshwaran, 26, of Vadapalani complains about the frequent movement of two-wheelers on pedestrian pathways. “Pedestrians are often forced to give way to two-wheelers honking and riding on walkways, especially during traffic jams. This happens because of lack of barriers on the walkways,” he says.
M. Hema, a resident of Padi who regularly uses the AG-DMS subway, points to the difficulties in the rainy season. “Whenever it rains, water enters the subway, making it wet and slippery. Sometimes, water stagnates in corners, taking time to drain,” she notes.
K. Parthasarathy, 78, of Saidapet highlights the challenges he faces. “My visibility isn’t as good as that of a younger person, and these walkways lack rumble strips or reflective stickers. When there are steps or a slight change in elevation, I struggle to notice them. It’s essential to paint the steps or use reflective stickers for better visibility. Additionally, electricity cables that pop up across the walkways blend in with the dark areas at night, making them difficult to spot,” he explains.
Green shelters
M. Sharmila, of Tiruvottriyur, underscores the need for green shelters at the pedestrian crossings. “On Anna Salai, one of the city’s widest and busiest roads, pedestrians often have to wait long for the signal to cross. Standing under the hot sun is difficult for everyone; so, similar to the vehicle shelters erected at peak summers, pedestrians waiting at the signals should be provided with shelters.”
K. Nandana and M. Pavithra, second-year B.Sc Psychology students, want better lighting in the subways at night. The lights are dim and flicker. Installing new lights would help, they say. The pedestrians point to littering and worn-out paint in the subways and poor maintenance of drainage.
Former CMDA Chief Planner K. Kumar, who is a visiting faculty member at School of Architecture and Planning, Anna University, says the pedestrian-centric, in lieu of the usual car-centric, initiative taken by the Chennai Corporation to transform the streetscape is welcome. “As for improving the pedestrian subways, the following can broadly be kept in view: Retrofitting attempted in the past era can be rejigged to fetch value addition. The popular prototype of accessing KMC Hospital (across EVR Periyar Salai) by patients in wheelchairs or on stretchers through a ramp established in early 1980s is asking for deployment through enhanced redesign. Wherever the number of senior citizens crossing the arterial road is significant, those subways can be redesigned, retrofitted with the ramp design.”
“The experiment of relocating those informal activities (street-hawking) to the pedestrian subway has really proved to be watering two plants with one hose. While its removal from the surface of the road resulted in better traffic flow, the permanent presence of platform vending below ensured free movement of pedestrians without the fear of being mugged or other antisocial activities in the otherwise poorly lit subway. Both pedestrian-vehicle conflict and the room for urban crimes have thus been done away with, successfully integrating street-hawking with safe pedestrian passage in the urban design. The examples of the subway opposite the Guindy railway station and the one opposite Labour Statue on Kamarajar Salai have been reaping rich dividends by rejigging the facility design,” he adds.
Better lighting
Calling for better lighting of the subways, he says, “Subways can exhibit murals, digital pictures capturing the heritage or other significant aspects of the location. Better lighting of the subways is a surefire way of both elevating the utility of the facility and elimination of petty urban crimes. Solar power can be tapped into for lighting in the subways and the nearby traffic signals, if necessary. Subways can easily be identified by pedestrians if they wear a unique colour code across the whole metropolis. Bus stop shelters can also be integrated into the subway redesign so that there is all-round value addition.”
“The minimum pedestrian safety features in the redesign of the road junction layout are incorporation of pedestrian refuges in the form of central medians, channelisers, and segregators. Recalibrating the traffic signal cycle time to ensure adequate phase time for pedestrian crossing needs to be carried out. The best national, IRC codal practice, and global practices can be adhered to. Studies have found that there is visible value addition in the deployment of tabletop pedestrian crossing. On merits, the same can be introduced and scaled up,” he says.
Published - August 11, 2024 10:50 pm IST
