Chennai: In a bid to streamline traffic on the 200-feet Pallavaram-Thoraipakkam Radial Road, Tambaram police from Monday introduced two U-turns near Kamakshi Hospital junction, which will no more have signals.
Vehicles heading from Velachery towards Pallavaram must take a left at Kamakshi Hospital junction, travel 200 metres, and take the newly created U-turn on Radial Road. “Earlier, we waited 7-10 minutes for the signal to turn green every evening,” said Jaiganesh, a commuter who travels daily from Chennai-One tech park to Chromepet.
There were initial concerns whether Radial Road had space to accommodate U-turns. The police widened the stretch and levelled rough edges to ensure turning radius even for heavy vehicles, said Samay Singh Meena, deputy commissioner of police, rraffic.
Vehicles travelling from Pallavaram towards Pallikaranai can no longer take a right turn at Kamakshi signal. They must take a left, proceed to Mylai Balaji junction, make a U-turn, and use the flyover to descend on to Velachery-Tambaram Road near Balaji Dental College.
“With this, we ensured smooth traffic flow on Radial Road in both directions,” said Sundaraj, assistant commissioner of police, traffic, Pallikaranai. However, considering pedestrian safety, the Kamakshi Hospital signal will have brief 30-40 second pedestrian crossing intervals every four to five minutes.
Despite the changes, some Pallikaranai residents remain sceptical. “There is already a bottleneck 200 metres from the Latha Supermarket signal due to ongoing Tangedco and metrowater works. Without widening this stretch (on Velachery-Tambaram high road), adding U-turns won’t help,” said D Varadhan, a resident of Narayanapuram.
Suresh Menon, a traffic planner involved in the initiative, said the goal is to maintain continuous movement. “Similar worries were raised when we implemented this system on Old Mahabalipuram Road. But today, motorists between Navalur and Madhya Kailash save at least 30-35 minutes,” he said.