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Irregularities in parking in Lawrence Road has resulted in inconvenience. Three years ago parking was regularized after the sidewalks were laid. There were separate parking space for two wheelers and four wheelers. Now the markings on the road are completely gone. As the days pass by most don’t follow the rule. Two wheelers, auto rickshaws and cars are parked till the middle of the road. Especially the auto rickshaws don’t have the permission to stop. Traffic police is very well aware of what is happening, but no action is taken to stop this.

Barricades are used to regulate traffic and are usually placed in a direction across the traffic flow. In the above picture the barricades are clearly visible since it is seen from the side.

But for the road users it will not be clearly visible as seen in the picture below.
In Cuddalore at most of the places, these barricades are used for lane separation and are seen placed in parallel direction to the traffic. Since it is of poor visibility to the oncoming vehicle traffic, the probability of head on collision with these iron barricades are imminent. This unsafe practice is bound to endanger the life of the vehicle users especially the two wheelers.

To avoid any untoward incident these suggestions can be considered
1. The width of the barricade can be increased.
2. Reflector boards can be fixed so the visibility is increased.
3. Barricades can be replaced with horizontal reflector boards.
4. Bright coloured cones can be used.
5. Concrete lane dividers can be laid.

The following picture shows how a speed breaker should be.
Picture courtesy - www.delhitrafficpolice.nic.in

PS: Click on the picture to view a bigger one
The guidelines to be followed before a decision for laying a speed breaker can be read at this site

But in many places around Cuddalore, speed breakers are laid as five successive humps at a span of 60 feet. One such is shown in the above picture. Location : Semmandalam - Kammiampet road connecting Panruti road.

From the traffic point there should be only one speed breaker to control the traffic, but such a number of humps in the name of speed breakers is proving a hindrance to the road users.

Kammianpet shows visible development within a year of completion of the link bridge connecting Semandalam. There are abundance vacant spaces in this area which can very well be utilised for various public buildings and for the commercial development of the town.

This place is easily accessible from many parts of the town which makes it suitable site for public buildings and government offices. This is a potential place for the proposed Integrated Courts Complex and an Integrated Offices Complex. An Integrated Offices Complex may help shift the offices functioning in rented buildings. It would be a great relief for various departments which pays huge sum as rent.

The development of the locality must be planned and a design layout must be drafted out to guide the development. The place is also suitable for bringing up commercial establishments. Government can even come up with a multistoryed market similar to the one proposed for Erode.

As a first step to increase the more activity along this stretch, ‘Share Auto’ service and the bus service must be introduced.

A long sighted initiative must be taken for traffic planning. Necessary land must be acquired and reserved along the road and railway routes, before the value of the land sores up.

As the value of the land rises encroachments becomes an major issue. Real estate owners tries to make most of the land: their own land and the public land. Already some of them have illegally occupied the river bank with help of corrupt officials. This illegal occupation is done along the south west corner of the bridge, which is shown in photo. Note: The photograph was taken several months back, now the place looks completely different.

A distant view of Kammianpet-Semandalam bridge as seen from the land which was recently converted into plots.

The river bund road connecting Jawan’s Bhavan and Kammianpet has further increased the land value. This was a dreamproject for decades. The inaccessible part of the town is about to get a good access. De-congesting the roads is the direct reason behind the project, but the resulting development along is this stretch will be unimaginable. A similar bund road from Kammianpet and Padirikuppam would nurture the ongoing developement process. Though it may not be economically viable to carry out such a project at this stage, keeping the river bank safe from illegal occupiers is vital.

Note: The above photos were taken several months back

Related links:

Gedilam bank to be raised - The Hindu

Bridge across Gedilam coming up: Bedi - The Hindu