Residents seeking corporation help to improve or put up new civic infrastructure is routine. But in T Nagar, where the corporation is plannning a `291crore flyover connector, residents want the plan shelved.
After the corporation council gave a nod on Wednesday to merge the two Usman Road flyovers, residents have come up with a laundry list of concerns they want addressed first.
Two years ago, the corporation held a public consultation meeting and gave residents nine designs for flyover integration to choose from to reduce traffic congestion.There was at least one factor that wasn't feasible in all the designs. After this meeting, various residents' associations wrote to the civic body saying they did not want the existing flyovers extended or new flyovers built. They , in fact, wanted the flyovers removed. In the latest case, the cor poration plans to demolish parts of the South Usman Road and North Usman Road flyovers to form one long flyover -the Anna SalaiMahalingapuram connector.But, the residents still want the merger plan dropped and the existing flyovers razed.
A corporation official said they finalised the design chosen by residents. “Each of the 9 plans had some problem or the other and we went for a design with overall merit,“ he said. “We will demolish the flyover ramp at Ranganathan Street, this will actually free up the area and the subways too will be beneficial for pedestrians.“
Residents say the issue will be compounded if the plan materialises. There are four major woes -further narrowing of service lanes, no space of fire tenders in case of emergencies, increase in encroachments and restricting movement of residents.
“The mayor and previous commissioner have admitted that the South Usman Road flyover was constructed without proper planning.Because of such improper planning we suffer long traffic jams now,“ said a fifth generation resident of Madley Road, Venu P. “If these two flyovers are merged, what the corporation will construct will be the closure of T Nagar.“
“At present, buses towards Vadapalani ply via the service lane on North Usman Road and turn left to reach the Kodambakkam flyover. If the flyover gets extended to connect South Usman Road and Mahalingampuram flyovers, the narrow service lanes, will have to be made navigable for vehicular traffic,“ said T Nagar Residents' Welfare Association secretary Kannan B.
Members of the association added that residents of streets abutting Usman Road will have problems in crisscrossing. “Encroachment beneath the flyovers will hit road users badly ,“ they said.“Commuters will not be able to alight at intermediary stops like T Nagar Bus Stand, Viveks, Bharati Nagar or Bazulla Road.“
