Chennai residents want barricades on East Coast Road removed – Times of India

CHENNAI: Kamraj Nagar residents in Thiruvanmiyur have demanded that barricades on East Coast Road opposite Marundeeswarar Temple be removed.
Earlier, vehicles entering the city from Mahabalipuram or Puducherry were using ECR till the LB road junction. But a few years ago, barricades were placed at the junction of ECR and Kamaraj Nagar South Avenue opposite Chennai Central Cooperative Bank.
As a result, all Chennai-bound vehicles had to take a left turn at this junction and travel through interior roads of Kamaraj Nagar to reach LB Road signal.
As portions of ECR were gradually widened, most heavy vehicles started preferring ECR over Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR) to avoid traffic bottlenecks and toll stretches.
Kamaraj Nagar, which was developed by the Tamil Nadu Housing Board predominantly for residential use, began witnessing frequent traffic jams, particularly during peak hours.
Subsequently, in order to restrict entry of buses and trucks into Kamaraj Nagar, Chennai police installed barriers along the congested interior roads. Within a matter of a few months, these barriers on the junction of Kamaraj Nagar and LB Road were also removed.
“Initially, it was stated that the blockade and height restriction barriers were only temporary measures. However, they have now apparently become permanent.
This has led to the entire Kamaraj Nagar area, once serene and tranquil, becoming a major traffic bottleneck,” said advocate R Visveswaran, who filed a complaint with the Chennai Police and Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC).
The 400-metre stretch along ECR (from the barricades to the entrance of Thiruvanmiyur bus terminus) has been converted into a full-fledged vegetable and fruit market. Heavy vehicles ply on the stretch round the clock, resulting in traffic chaos, he said. While GCC’s assistant engineer blamed the police department, Kapil Kumar C Saratkar, Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) said, they will look into the matter urgently.