THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Even as an advanced system to detect over-speeding has been installed along the Kowdiar - Vellayamb-alam stretch in view of rampant rash driving and accidents, many other road safety risks on the stretch remain ignored. Too many median openings, unregulated entry of vehicles from side roads and rampant parking are some issues that make the road still risky. The 1200 metre Kowdiar - Vellayamb-alam stretch has five median opening.
As per norms there should be a distance of 500 metres between two median openings. Hence the Kowdiar Vellayambalam strecth should ideally have only two median openings. Similarly median openings should not be on directly opposite side of the roads. Though the authorities wanted to enforce this, the presence of the Raj Bhavan (official residence of the Governor) as well as residences of many ministers, officers and VIPs on either side of the stretch makes it impossible. “We had pointed out on several occasions that the presence of too many median openings was a major road safety concern of the stretch. But because of pressures, we could not enforce it,” said a Motor Vehicles Depart-ment official.
City Road Improvement Project director Mr. Anil Kumar Pandala said that ideally there should be only three median openings along the stretch. And because of security reasons, there should be one near the Raj Bhavan. The one near Trivandrum Tennis Club also could not be avoided as it led to Nanthencode which is even a transport bus route. Of the openings near Jawahar Nagar and Golf Links road, only one should be allowed. The one near Manmohan Bungalow could be avoided. Instead sufficient u-turn facility could be provided at any of the other openings, he suggested. Another major risk along the stretch is the unregulated entry of vehicles from side roads. There are about a dozen side roads on either side of the stretch. Either speed breakers should be installed at the entry of the side roads to avoid vehicles entering the main road without reducing speed or traffic signals should be installed.
The rampant parking along the stretch, especially near some commercial establishments, should also be strictly checked. Traffic expert Upendra Narayan said that strict checking or over-speeding, rash driving and other traffic offences, especially during odd hours were essential to make the stretch safer. “Instead of trying to stop a vehicle being driven rashly, the police could use group enforcement methods like passing on messages to policemen on duty at the next junction and stopping the vehicle there. Fear of frequent checks would curb rash driving along the stretch,” he said.
Confusion over speed limits
The advanced overspeed detection system along Kowdiar - Vellayambalam stretch was formally launched on Tuesday, even as confusion over the speed limits still continues. While motor vehicles department officials said that the over speed limits on the system would be fixed at 50 kmph, sources at Keltron, which installed the system, said that the speed limits were yet to be fixed in the system. The speed limit prescribed for the stretch now in 40 kmph.
Transport Minister A K Saseendran laun-ched the new system which also has the facility to store details of all vehicles passing along the stretch. K Muraleedharan MLA, Transport commissioner K. Padmakumar and Keltron managing director T.R. Hemalatha were present at the launch. Meanwhile, the Thiruvananthapuram Road Development Company Limited was not happy with the design on the new automated system as they felt that such a large structure affected the beauty of the stretch.
