Driving through Royapettah clock tower junction? Pray

Driving through Royapettah clock tower junction? Pray

Ayyappan.V@timesgroup.com

Chennai:13.08.2021

If you are stuck in the traffic at Royapettah clock tower junction in the evenings, be ready to wait endlessly as vehicular movement in the stretch is chaotic and often unregulated.

At 6.45pm on Thursday, at least ten two-wheeler riders were seen jumping the signal and driving in different directions in a span of around five minutes.

The junction appears gridlocked as traffic from Bharati Salai is allowed into General Patters Road. This set of vehicles intersect with those from Whites Road to Bharati Salai and vehicles from GH side to Bharati Salai. This criss-crossing traffic does not move in accordance with the traffic signals. The problem started soon after authorities opened General Patters Road for two-way traffic almost two years ago, said a regular commuter on the stretch.

Motorists, especially twowheelers, routinely jump signals even though a traffic police post is located close by. Signal violations are not penalised.

Mohammed K, who runs a shop near the junction, said that there are no traffic blocks but people violate the red signals and drive into different streets often coming close to collision. “They just drive away,” he said. The police sometimes crack down on parking and often tow away motorcycles and regulate the autorickshaws, he added.

Darshan V, a local resident, said, “You will need to drive carefully to prevent from getting hit by a two-wheeler. They appear to be coming from every direction. There is no order at all.”

The intersection that connects traffic from Mandaveli to Anna Salai and Royapettah and Beach and vice versa gets congested on weekends.

A traffic policeman on duty said that the two-way system is not the problem. “The traffic signal pattern that regulates flow of vehicles from each road needs to be changed. This will prevent motorists from trying to drive across. This will be tried out in the coming days.”