Chennai: Despite Chennai city traffic police manning the city roads and the Chennai corporation inaugurating new flyovers, traffic congestion continues to haunt the motorists at arterial junctions. Thanks to the sparkling shopping malls and multiplex that failed to regulate a large number of vehicles swarming the complexes. When DC visited a few shopping malls and multiplexes the common issue is that the lack of coordination between the mall parking staff and the private security.
Despite having spacious parking arenas in the basement of most of the malls make the cars wait at the entrance for collecting money or to issue the parking tokens adding to the peak hour traffic. Cabs and auto-drivers also add to the existing traffic snarls forcing the vehicles to ply at snail pace. According to Chennai city traffic police sources Vadapalani, Whites Road, Chromepet and Royappettah tower clock are classic examples of traffic piling up due to the malls and commercial buildings. “Even after the inaugural of a flyover at Vadapalani and Vadapalani metro station being a chief mode to commute, the traffic on Arcot Road, near Vadapalani junction has not eased”, said a traffic constable attached to Vadapalani police limit.
The traffic on 100 feet road has reduced to some extent, but a mall located on the Arcot Road leads to traffic chaos during peak hours. “We also lack enough staff to regulate traffic at busy junctions. Especially during the weekend, it’s difficult to reduce the traffic congestion,” the constable braving the scorching sun said. Traffic congestion has the worst effect of delayed treatment during medical emergencies as the shopping malls that are on the route to hospitals, even make ambulances stand in queues for hours.
An ambulance driver at Vijaya Hospital in Vadapalani, S. Murugan says, “It is highly risky to bring patients to the hospital in emergency cases, their life is at stake, but we are not able to find way due to heavy traffic, mainly due to congestion near the Forum mall on Arcot Road”. “The entrance of a spacious mall in Royapettah makes it difficult for office goers and to cross this area, it takes several minutes for a journey that should not take more than five minutes,” said Azar Ahmed, a regular commuter. Instead of being hasty in collecting parking fees at the entrance, malls can do it near the basement,” said V. Prakash, a visitor to a shopping mall in Vadapalani.
