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Indira Nagar-L.B. Road junction gets choked with vehicles
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Chock-a-block: Vehicles backing up at the Indira Nagar Third Avenue-L.B. Road Junction. The congestion worsens when vehicles come in the wrong side of the road or are parked haphazardly along the Third Avenue.
| Photo Credit: M. SRINATH
For residents of Indira Nagar, going out in a car in the evening towards Thiruvanmiyur would be nothing short of a nightmare as the vehicles back up for nearly half-a-kilometre at times. The intersection where Indira Nagar Third Avenue meets Lattice Bridge Road gets choked at peak hours during the week and on Saturdays.
The Third Avenue, dotted not only with residential apartments but also eateries and retail outlets, has been handling a flurry of vehicles, especially after the traffic diversions came into effect for the Metro Rail work, both at Adyar and on Old Mahabalipuram Road, residents say.
Bad in the evenings
L. Krishnakumar, of Adyar Indira Nagar Residents Welfare Association, says a drive to Avvai Nagar from his residence at Indira Nagar, which would earlier take only 10 minutes, now requires half-an-hour at peak hours. “The congestion is quite bad, especially in the evenings. I have stopped taking out my two-wheeler between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. because I would just be wasting time on the road. I try to finish my errands before 5 p.m. and return home. But not everyone can do the same and they end up getting caught in the traffic jam. We have not seen such congestion before the Metro Rail work began,” he says.
Residents say the problem worsens when vehicles come in the wrong side of the road or are parked haphazardly along the Third Avenue.
K. Murugavel Raj, who has been running a medical shop on the stretch for over two decades, says it would help if the encroachments are removed and irregular and unauthorised parking of cars is prevented along the Third Avenue. “As it is, the road is unable to handle the volume of traffic. The parked vehicles eat up the very little space left for vehicles to move,” he adds.
Waiting time increases
Saturdays are worse with many people heading to the East Coast Road through this intersection, residents say. “Till a few years ago, the waiting time at this intersection wasn’t much. But now, if I step out around 6 p.m. on a Saturday to go towards Old Mahabalipuram Road, I have to wait for 10 minutes sometimes at this intersection,” says another commuter.
Mr. Krishnakumar says one of the immediate needs is removal of the encroachments and a crackdown on the unauthorised parking on the Third Avenue. “It would at least clear up some space for residents and commuters,” he adds.
Roads need widening
M. Prakash, an autorickshaw driver, says that as the vehicle population doubles with time, it is high time that Indira Nagar Third Avenue and Lattice Bridge Road were widened. “The Metro Rail work will go on for a few years. Unless these roads are widened, they will not be able to handle the traffic in the coming years,” he adds.
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