THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Defunct traffic signals, poorly maintained pathways, unchecked street vending and inadequate road safety measures are putting the lives of pedestrians and commuters at risk in the state capital. Despite repeated tragedies, East Fort – infamous for pedestrian fatalities – continues to be in a precarious condition.
On Friday, a 52-year-old man lost his life after getting caught between two moving buses at East Fort. Three people have lost their lives at East Fort alone this year. As per data, around 5,000 pedestrians have died in road accidents across the state between 2018 and 2022. An official of NATPAC said 25% of the total accident victims were pedestrians.
According to studies, the peak hour pedestrian footfall in the busy Overbridge Jn to East Fort stretch comes around 10,000 to 15,000. The pedestrian infrastructure at East Fort, unscientifically planned, remains unused and ineffective.
Meanwhile, an average of 800 buses, both private and KSRTC, operate in the region causing traffic chaos. The tussle between private bus operators and KSRTC has also been going on for years now. However, the changing governments and the local leadership have failed to resolve the issue.
Open drains are also becoming a major threat to commuters and pedestrians. In a recent incident at Sreekaryam, a 72-year-old was found dead in a drain.
A top official of the city corporation said the matter will be discussed in the next traffic advisory committee meeting.
“We have come to realise that foot overbridges in the city are under-utilised and multiple stakeholders are involved in ensuring the pedestrian safety. We have decided to place this as a major agenda in the traffic advisory committee meeting,” said the official.
A draft master plan of the city corporation proposes a mobility hub at Anayara and the state town and country planning department has proposed a ‘town square’ or ‘city plaza’ at East Fort – which falls in the core part of the city. Road safety expert and former managing director of TRDCL (Trivandrum Road Development Corporation Ltd) Anil Kumar Pandala said the proposals by TRDCL as part of the city road improvement project were killed by various stakeholders.
“The authorities should encourage commuters and pedestrians to utilise the foot overbridges and it should be strictly enforced. Ideally, the city bus operations should be shifted to Thampanoor Bus Terminal and the operations of inter-district buses should be relocated to Enchakkal. Nobody is making efforts to implement these suggestions,” he said.
Meanwhile, the motor vehicle department and the traffic authorities on Saturday strengthened enforcement activities at East Fort in response to Friday’s tragic accident. “We did a drone surveillance and a decision has been taken to put more police force to manage traffic. A traffic official will be in charge at East Fort to enforce line traffic. Vehicles will not be allowed to stay longer,” said assistant commissioner Suresh R, Traffic (South).
Pedestrian infra unscientific, unused
On Friday, a 52-year-old man lost his life after getting caught between two moving buses at East Fort. Three people have lost their lives at East Fort alone this year. The pedestrian infrastructure at East Fort, unscientifically planned, remains unused and ineffective