Chennai Traffic Management

[goodman]

Originally Posted by WillyWick

the pavements that exists are too high from the road level. the pavement hieght needs to be lowered.
Apart from that the few existing pavements need to be cleaned in order for it to be used.
All trees on the pavements especially on the mainroads should be removed. If it can be transplanted its good or the trees should be junked. Pls note : I am refering to the trees only on the main roads' pavements.
Lastly the roads should have marked lanes. Once the vehicles start plying on the lanes close to the pavement ,people will start walking on pavement. Also in the process of marking lanes it could be checked if the width oof the pave ment can be extended

This would work for the pavements like in RK salai but in many other main roads, there is a bigger issue of enchroachments or street vendors. These businesses gotta go.

Another point to note is that the pavements in chennai have storm water drains underneath. when the pavements are laid down with poor quality they collapse and render it useless for walking.
We can't expect people to take risks. Also pavements are full of fecal matter or garbage especially in places where transformers are present. First all the ugly transformers should be replaced by small but efficient transformers that we see in US streets that actually hang on the pole rather than sitting on the pavement.

[Tron]

Originally Posted by Fusionist

about the multi level bus depot..

I will agree that it is new technology and might not suit a transportation system like MTC that still has buses with open door and footboard passengers. Perhaps if it is to be introduced the SETC might have to set the example, but with KMBD already inplace I don't see that happewning.

Multi level car park however is a must.

about colour coding pavements..

yes it is very much pointless unless there are walkable and pedestrain friendly pavement first of all.

It wont be a big deal to install doors on existing buses. This is not a valid enough reason to not to adopt a good solution for integrated intermodal transport. We just have to start somewhere, and make sure all new buses have motorized doors, and slowly phase out the current buses - by selling them to other district transportation corporations or something.

[Fusionist]

Originally Posted by Tron

It wont be a big deal to install doors on existing buses. This is not a valid enough reason to not to adopt a good solution for integrated intermodal transport. We just have to start somewhere, and make sure all new buses have motorized doors, and slowly phase out the current buses - by selling them to other district transportation corporations or something.

Installing doors in the present busses could be a problem. The beter option is to go for low floor/automatic door, fibre glass busses. That would mean ( like you said ) introducing them on specific routes and phasing them in over the rest of the routes. And replacing the entire fleet takes time.

I never said anything agains't integrated transport network. Infact I am all for it. I am not particular about multi level bus depots. Both doesn't have to go hand in hand. I would love to see ground level bus depots with overhead metro station ( both with wheelchair access, car parking facility ).

[goldies]

No more goods vehicles during the peak hours of all working days starting from coming monday.


http://www.hindu.com/2007/02/22/stor...2218270300.htm

[metalfan]

Originally Posted by goodman

Another point to note is that the pavements in chennai have storm water drains underneath. when the pavements are laid down with poor quality they collapse and render it useless for walking.
We can't expect people to take risks. Also pavements are full of fecal matter or garbage especially in places where transformers are present. First all the ugly transformers should be replaced by small but efficient transformers that we see in US streets that actually hang on the pole rather than sitting on the pavement.

Pavements are for vendors. Therefore you find people and cattle using the road for walking which eats up valuable road space that can be used for a shoulder or another lane for certain wide roads.

Good point about the transformers. I don't know why nobody makes a big fuss about folks defacating in public. On a related note, someone finally filed a lawsuit against the railways for dumping all fecal matter on the tracks thereby polluting the environment. Isn't it time we all moved to the 21st century. If India needs to be a superpower - we need to become a more civilized society.

- KC

[ferrari_fan]

From the Chennai Updates thread :

Originally Posted by bflychaser

http://www.newstodaynet.com/10feb/ld1.htm

Land for Chennai airport identified

NT Bureau
Chennai, Feb 10:

In what appears to be an end to the speculation over the choice of site for a new airport for Chennai with international standards, the Central government seems to have zeroed in on a sprawling 3000 acre site on the Old Mahabalipuram Road, near Paiyanur, sources here said today.

In the Old Mahabalipuram Road, on the Tiruporrur to Mahabalipuram route, from Karunguzhipallam to Paiyanur, a 3000 acre barren land said to be owned by the Ministry of Defence, has been identified as a suitable location for the new project, it is said.

Senior officials of the Civil Aviation Ministry, Airports Authority of India besides revenue officials of the State, surveyed the area on 7 February for an on the spot assessment and soil tests are now being conducted, sources added.

The six-lane highway upto Siruseri from Madhya Kailash is likely to be extended upto Pooncheri, close to Mahabalipuram in the wake of the new Airport project.

Alongside the Paiyanur site, two more locations near Chennai are also being considered for their suitability to house the new airport for the City, it is said.

About 1500 acre site, between Pudupakkam - Mambakkam on the Kelambakkam Vandalur Road, near the proposed and shelved satellite city project of Chief Minister M Karunanidhi and vast tracts of land measuring about 700 acres near Kelambakkam used by salt manufacturing companies are also being considered, it is said.

Interestingly, the Paiyanur site examined by the officials for the airport project was the one proposed to be developed as an administrative city by the previous AIADMK regime.

The Chennai airport expansion plan, conceived near the Pammal and Pozhicalur region in the midst of residential localities faced stiff resistance from not only residents but also from major political parties like the BJP.

The founder leader of PMK, Ramadoss also rose against the scheme, which he said would displace and harm the thousand of residents.

Chief Minister M Karunanidhi announced in the State Assembly that 'no scheme which hurts and displaces the common man would be implemented' which pushed the expansion scheme to cold storage.

Subsequently, airport near Sriperumbudur was proposed by Karunanidhi which however was found to be not feasible.

it looks like this airport location might actually work out, so i think it's time to discuss the possibility of an elevated expy and a metro line along the IT highway, or else creating a new expy access to this location..

the 6-lane highway u/c won't be sufficient if it has to support most of the city's IT industry as well as the new international airport..

[Fusionist]

Originally Posted by ferrari_fan

From the Chennai Updates thread :



it looks like this airport location might actually work out, so i think it's time to discuss the possibility of an elevated expy and a metro line along the IT highway, or else creating a new expy access to this location..

the 6-lane highway u/c won't be sufficient if it has to support most of the city's IT industry as well as the new international airport..

I think cloverleafs along the ITH is more essential than elevated metro. I would suggest a MRTS extension along the Buckingham Canal to the Airport plus a Express Heavy Rail route from the new airport to the present Thrisulam airport.. ( following parallel to the OMR and then turning west connecting to the railway line along NH45 near Thrisulam ) and build a railway interchange at THrisulam.

[kannan infratech]

Lot of mini flyovers are being planned in all important junctions as part of JNNURM.

The forumers can forward the urgent requirements wherever it is needed.

The same will be forwarded for scrutiny.

If lucky, they may be taken in the first phase.

[goodman]

Originally Posted by kannan infratech

Lot of mini flyovers are being planned in all important junctions as part of JNNURM.

The forumers can forward the urgent requirements wherever it is needed.

The same will be forwarded for scrutiny.

If lucky, they may be taken in the first phase.

My only concern is the width of the mini flyovers going to be built. Knowing the driving skills of our dear citizens, it would be wise for the designers to have heavy concrete crash barriers on the sides instead of those lean grills that we see on the existing mini flyovers.
Also the center median should be atleast two feet tall (can be a lean concrete barrier) so that the vehicles will be forced to stick to their lanes and not drive in the opposite side.

[satish]

Originally Posted by kannan infratech

Lot of mini flyovers are being planned in all important junctions as part of JNNURM.

The forumers can forward the urgent requirements wherever it is needed.

The same will be forwarded for scrutiny.

If lucky, they may be taken in the first phase.

I think chennai corporation has covered most urgent areas. Doraisami subway jn at panagal park, Turnbulls rd jn (& Chamiers road) are some of the worst areas and I am glad work has started at many of these places (i noticed work commencing on chamiers road - all the way across cenotaph road and ttk road, gn chetty road at old residency hotel and kodambakkam rd-north usman road jn).

All most all junctions along Mount road require flyovers (nandanam, guindy, peters road, eldams road, spencers: possibly in that order, but i am sure government has better data). But I suppose they will be addressed as soon as metro rail alignment is known.

I think what has not been addressed is Arcot rd/kodambakkam road. Entire road from Vadapalani till Kodambakkam bridge (possibly from porur to nungambakkam road) needs to be widened. While the flyover at Usman rd jn is useful to remove the current oneways, it is not going to solve the traffic from/to vadapalani because it is the Kodambakkam bridge that is the bottleneck. I don't know areas around this bridge well, but we could possibly build subway around either side of kodambakkam bridge, so part of traffic gets diverted.

[goodman]

I have seen the underside of this arcot bridge couple of years back and it was deplorable and has couple of godowns and a market. It looks like some shady neighbourhood.
This portion under and the sides of the bridge needs to be cleared and can be used for parking vehicles which create a bottleneck on the vadapalani side of the bridge. Hope they will do something about this.

[Sundaravelu]

Arcot road is one of the most neglected road in city now. Traffic is horrible in this stretch right from kodambakkam-vadapalani-porur-kundrathur. After kundrathur it is as good as mud road. This road is recently announced as State highways, lets hope something happens atleast now. They should lay proper 6-lane road from kundrathur to porur so that atleast this stretch can be saved from encroachment and it will definitely help to reduce the traffic from NH-4 to porur section. It will be logical to design proper fly over at every junction like mugalivakkam, mowlivakkam, gerugambakkam.
Most of the places inside city is already covered here. So let me add some more important junctions in suburbs.

1. Ambattur estate (near bus stand)
2. Medavakkam koot road
3. Pallavaram (near bus stand), we need a mini flyover in the GST so that vehicles can take right to high-traffic pammal-anagapuhur road

[abdipodu]

Is there any update on the 3.8 km Ambattur Flyover....
Thanks

[satish]

Originally Posted by goodman

I have seen the underside of this arcot bridge couple of years back and it was deplorable and has couple of godowns and a market. It looks like some shady neighbourhood.
This portion under and the sides of the bridge needs to be cleared and can be used for parking vehicles which create a bottleneck on the vadapalani side of the bridge. Hope they will do something about this.

By either side of Kodambakkam bridge, I meant build a subway to cross the rails within 1 km of either side. There is not much scope to expand this bridge. You could remove the pedestrian path along the bridge and build a separate pedestrian subway/steel overbridge to cross the tracks.

[cure]

CHENNAI: Haggle no more. The message to autorickshaw drivers was loud and clear at the inauguration of the revamped pre-paid autorickshaw service at the Central Railway Station on Thursday.

State Transport Minister K.N. Nehru, who inaugurated the service, said the revamped system was an opportunity for the auto drivers to correct not just their image but also that of the city among visitors arriving at the station. "The city's image has taken a beating because of the haggling that visitors are subjected to. There is the positive example of Bangalore. All drivers must co-operate for the success of the system."

He said the pre-paid autorickshaw system would soon start at the airport. The Airports Authority of India had agreed in principle to the proposal and the Transport Department officials were working out the modalities.

Mr. Nehru also announced that the government would soon issue 10,000 permits for autorickshaws in the city — 5,000 given with subsidy for drivers with five years' experience within the Chennai Metropolitan Area, the rest without subsidy. The work to issue permits starts in a week.

Senior Government officials, including Home Secretary S. Malathi, Special Secretary Ambuj Sharma, Transport Commissioner C.P. Singh and IG (Railways) I. Raja, were present.

Office-bearers of Chennai Central Railway Station Auto Drivers and Commuters Welfare Society, the drivers' union operating the service, issued computerised receipts for the passengers who arrived. The railway police coordinated the efforts and helped passengers board the autorickshaws.

The tariff for the service has been fixed at a minimum of Rs.21 for the first 2 km and Rs.9 for every subsequent km — 50 per cent more than the recently revised tariff of Rs.14 for the first 2 km and Rs.6 for every subsequent km for the city's autos. While consumers felt the fares were on the higher side, officials and drivers maintain that pre-paid systems are normally costlier. There is no scope for bargaining for anything extra as well as nighttime and extra-luggage fares.

Officials and auto unions have drawn a list of 160 destinations and fares thereto. These will work out not just for the exact destination but also for areas within a radius of 1 or 2 kilometres. The list is not exhaustive, and it is possible some passengers may feel aggrieved. For example, Anna Nagar (Roundtana) drop would cost Rs.75 and a drop at Anna Nagar (West) would cost Rs.102. But since Anna Nagar Blue Star is right now not on the list, a passenger availing the service will have to pay for the next nearest destination on the list, Anna Nagar (East).

Officials said the pre-paid service would be constantly monitored by railway police and motor vehicle inspectors. An inspector or a sub-inspector of the Railway Police will be posted at the counter, and motor vehicle inspectors will operate in 3 shifts.

A supervisory committee, comprising railway police, drivers' union and consumer organisations, will maintain a daily register.

http://www.hindu.com/2007/03/09/stor...0919680300.htm

[WillyWick]

Back in Chennai!!!!

With the little I have travelled in chennai for the past week, I would say chennai main roads are pretty good. Yes! thats what I said 'good'.

But the management of road space totally hopeless. Crappy sidewalks where humans cant walk. Lousy street vendors especially in T Nagar and Parrys. Street parking during peak hours at busy roads. These are not something difficult to correct, rather a lack of common sense to implement them.

Apart from that traffic has gone up a lot. Without an intra city expressways and mass transport nothing much could be done about it. So I would not complain. One other planning error would be the absense of good 2 lane roads in many residential areas.

[kannan infratech]

CMDA has submitted the Master Plan II and it will be likely tabled during the current budget session. Please visit their website and convey your opinions, suggestions etc asap.

[nsantha2]

Originally Posted by kannan infratech

CMDA has submitted the Master Plan II and it will be likely tabled during the current budget session. Please visit their website and convey your opinions, suggestions etc asap.

Could you post the link to this website? Thanks.

[metalfan]

New traffic system proposed on Anna Salai

http://www.hindu.com/2007/03/23/stor...2310290100.htm

- KC

[kannan infratech]

Originally Posted by nsantha2

Could you post the link to this website? Thanks.

http://www.cmdachennai.org/english/