Reverse traffic flow ends up in chaos on GP road

CHENNAI: Till February 2012, crossing General Patters Road between Royapettah and Anna Salai was a cinch. With car accessory dealers having occupied one of the available two lanes, and making it their unofficial 'workshop space', whatever little traffic used the road would flow past quietly. Even during peak hours, crossing was fairly simple as there were no çrowded bus stops or milling share autos to crowd the space.Cut to March 2012, and it looks like a mirror image of what it used to be - albeit, a bleak and slightly scary one. Courtesy the traffic diversions that have been effected for the Chennai Metro Rail work on Anna Salai, the traffic flow has been reversed on GP Road. In addition, all the traffic from north Chennai, Central Station, Fort St George and even Walajah Road have to traverse the length of GP Road to reach Royapettah or Anna flyover and beyond — needless to say, this move has increased the traffic flow almost four fold.Bearing the brunt of this move are pedestrians and MTC bus users, mostly employees from the LIC office that sits at a prime location on the corner of Anna Salai and GP Road. "Ever since this stretch of Anna Salai (between LIC and Spencer Plaza) was made one-way, all the bus stops have been moved to GP Road. So we have almost stopped using the main entrance and use the back entrance here," said Shakuntala*, an LIC employee. "But to get to office and cross back to the other side, makes my heart race," she says. With no pedestrian crossing for the 1000-odd employees, scooting across is the only way for many of the middle-aged and elderly women and men. To make matters worse, there is no signal at the LIC junction, so the flow of traffic is unabated. "If at all, there is a break in the traffic it is because two buses stop and inadvertently give us time to run across," adds Priya Kumar*, another employee there.When City Express met a group of LIC employees who had braved speeding bikes and buses to reach the other side, one of them summed up the irony tactfully. "We keep telling our customers about insuring themselves by taking double and triple risk cover, and here there is no cover for us, despite the evident risk."When contacted, officials with the transport department and the Chennai City Traffic Police said that during peak hours, policemen were being despatched to aid pedestrians. (Names changed on request)