Chennai commuters in trouble at Patel Road-Gandhi Mandapam Road junction

Chaotic spot: Commuters struggle to cross the signal at the Sardar Patel Road-Gandhi Mandapam Road junction.
| Photo Credit: B. Velankanni Raj

For R. Roopesh who commutes every day from Adyar to T. Nagar through Kotturpuram, it is a nightmare to cross the signal at the Sardar Patel Road-Gandhi Mandapam Road junction. Be it severe congestion, wrong-side driving, or driving on the footpath, commuters grapple with a host of issues at this signal at peak hours.

“The traffic starts building up soon after the Madhya Kailash Junction. What worsens the situation is that vehicles from Madhya Kailash which have to turn right at the signal under the flyover to go to Kotturpuram occupy all the lanes. As a result, vehicles heading to Guindy get caught in the traffic and wait for long,” he says.

Tiring exercise

The waiting time is longer for vehicles coming from Gandhi Mandapam Road and taking the left turn towards Adyar or the right turn towards Guindy, he adds. “Crossing the stretch is tiring at the evening peak hours. The vehicles are crawling on Gandhi Mandapam Road,” he adds.

He points out that in the morning, he sees students riding cycles or two-wheelers on the wrong side (from the direction of Guindy towards Adyar) at this signal, to enter a college located near this signal.

Krishnakumar, a resident of Adyar, says he had to urgently go to a hospital a few months ago and got caught at the signal for a long time. “When I have to travel to Kotturpuram or Nandanam from Adyar and back, I dread crossing this signal,” he says.

Such issues aside, pedestrians find it difficult to walk on the footpath of Gandhi Mandapam Road at the evening peak hours. “On several days, I have seen two-wheelers speeding on the footpath to quickly reach this signal and cross it. As a result, pedestrians refrain from using it at the evening hours. The authorities should take measures to stop it at the earliest,” Mr. Krishnakumar adds.

A routine problem

K. Karthik, a resident of Sholinganallur who often travels to Guindy, says commuters get confused about the traffic pattern in the flyover at this junction. He says the traffic piling from Anna University till this signal is a routine problem, even for those taking the left turn towards Kotturpuram.