KNK Road goes pedestrian; traffic, parking chaos hit Wallace Garden and Rutland Gate

Pedestrianisation of Khader Nawaz Khan (KNK) Road, an arterial thoroughfare betwixt Utthamar Gandhi Salai and Greams Road, contempt absorption from the residents successful the area, has near longtime inhabitants of the country successful a quandary.

Nearly each the constrictive streets successful the surrounding 4.5 quadrate kilometre radius, particularly Wallace Garden and Rutland Gate, person been facing the uncontrolled commercialisation of the neighbourhood, postulation snarls, parking menace, and sound pollution, said the locals.

P.T. Krishnan, seasoned designer and nonmigratory of Wallace Garden since 1973, said, “The land-use signifier for these areas, arsenic per the Second Master Plan of Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA), was designated arsenic a ‘mixed residential zone’, which allows for lone a constricted level of commercialized activity, but the world is different.”

“Over the years, immoderate high-end shops came up, and aboriginal large hospitals came up on the periphery. But now, aft the CMDA said that with peculiar permission, the limitations connected commercialized usage could beryllium waived allowing for unlimited commercialized level abstraction successful a azygous building, determination has been accelerated commercialisation of galore buildings,” helium said.

Parking allocation for a residential analyzable differs from that of commercialized and mixed-use buildings. Unregulated on-street parking by a transient colonisation has accrued owed to rampant commercialisation. “Many existing residential gathering owners person converted their houses partially oregon afloat into shops and cafés without catering to the revised parking requirements. Residents person been flagging these problems with Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) and CMDA since 2024, but the suggestions were not considered,” helium said.

Now, adjacent ambulances and schoolhouse buses, isolated from motorists, are diverted to the smaller streets of Wallace Garden and Rutland Gate to scope Greams Road and Nungambakkam, since the pedestrian-priority KNK Road allows postulation to walk lone 1 mode towards Uttamar Gandhi Salai.

Adding to this, the visiting colonisation for KNK Road parks vehicles haphazardly connected these already constrictive roads, reducing the width of the carriageway. This besides leads to conflicts betwixt motorists, postulation jams and changeless honking, residents said.

They cited a study prepared by backstage consultants for GCC during the project’s inception, which stated that the infrastructure successful these 2 localities needed strengthening “to cater to the KNK Road improvement and for casual question of each modes of transport”. However, successful the Government Order dated March 29, 2023, this request was excluded, the locals alleged.

“Residents should person been consulted. Plans should person been explained by the authorities earlier starting the project. Cafés and restaurants stay unfastened till 11 p.m., and late-night activities spell connected unchecked. Permitting specified operations should person been done aft considering the radical who person been surviving determination for decades, particularly the elderly,” said Mr. Krishnan.

The upmarket assemblage that shops astatine KNK Road, which has some commercialized and residential spaces, is antithetic from those visiting T. Nagar, which was already a afloat commercialized area. There volition beryllium much cars arriving astatine KNK Road, but determination is nary multi-level parking oregon due strategy to regularly complaint motorists, according to the Wallace Garden and Rutland Gate Residents’ Association. “We are taking the ineligible way to resoluteness matters. KNK Road utilized to accommodate astir 600 cars a day. Where volition residents parkland those now,” asked a member.

Lane dug up

Two tiny portions of the lane were opened up 2 days ago, and enactment is present ongoing to hole the issues, further reducing the carriageway, said a information defender astatine 1 of the stores connected KNK Road.

According to section civic authorities, determination was an contented with 1 of the underground pipelines owed to adjacent Metro Rail work, which would beryllium fixed wrong 4 days.

Parking slots

Mr. Krishnan, mentioning that a implicit overhaul oregon task reversal is not imaginable now, suggested identifying intelligibly marked parking slots on interior lanes, with signage displaying parking charges. “Towing is not the solution and preventive measures are needed. Open spaces successful Wallace Garden and Rutland Gate tin beryllium utilized for paid parallel oregon perpendicular parking which volition easiness postulation flow,” helium said. He besides suggested a abstracted strategy to cod and negociate commercialized and nutrient discarded and to temporarily suspend the CMDA regularisation allowing unrestricted commercialized approvals successful mixed residential areas until infrastructure issues are resolved.

“The vehicles parked connected the pavements and bays are not charged by the police. Also, galore alm seekers slumber with their infants connected the seating for respective hours, but they are not asked to move. Public smoking is rampant. There is lone 1 postulation constabulary to power the one-way traffic. More unit are needed to support a cheque connected each issues”, Udhaya, a idiosyncratic astatine 1 of the shops connected KNK Road, said.

Security guards from Ripon Buildings were deployed to assistance the Chennai City Traffic Police successful managing conveyance movement. “There are implicit 10 constabulary unit assigned astir this country truthful far. Two to 3 much constabulary unit volition soon beryllium deployed for this roadworthy unsocial to modulate conveyance movement, marque parking provisions and levy charges regularly. The section is coordinating with the GCC for this,” said Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic-South) P. Vijayakumar.

A astute parking program and a survey to place unfastened spaces, including backstage ones, and measure the feasibility of utilizing them arsenic parking spots are being undertaken, said a elder GCC official.