Residents of western suburbs call for regulation of spaces beneath flyovers

Residents of the western suburbs, including Pattabiram, Thandurai, and Thiruninravur, have urged the Highways Department to regulate the spaces, beneath flyovers and service lanes, which are mostly encroached upon by vendors.

Poor maintenance

Motorists also complained about the lack of maintenance, such as the painting of rail overbridges in Thiruninravur, Veppampattu, Thandurai, and Pattabiram.

Thandurai resident K.S. Gopalakrishnan said that several shops occupied space on the service lanes of the flyover that replaced the LC-10 railway gate in their area, creating traffic bottlenecks during the morning and evening hours.

“Several two-wheelers belonging to customers take up the remaining space, causing inconvenience to residents of these localities, including Gopalapuram and Vallalar Nagar. Ambulances, cars, and even autorickshaws struggle to navigate these roads. Commuters taking trains from the nearby Pattabiram station also park their vehicles here,” he said.

These encroachments under the bridge and along the service lanes were there for nearly 15 years without any interference from an agency, said another resident. Jayaraman of Pattabiram said that the recently completed flyover at Veppampattu and the one under construction at LC2 Pattabiram Railway Siding also had encroachments. “Lighting under these bridges is not much, which leads to all kinds of unwanted activities. Food joints come up without any permissions. People are scared to go to such spaces after dark as there is absolutely no police presence,” the resident said.

Road users’ rights

Consumer activist T. Sadagopan said that it is necessary to regulate the shops and the parking spaces beneath the flyovers and the service lanes. “People talk of the rights of the vendors, then what about that of the road users for whom these facilities were primarily created? We would like some greenery and walking spaces under these flyovers, not illegal shops. The flyovers should also be decorated with wall art and murals like those inside the city. There are shops constructed by the Avadi Corporation that remain empty as the rents are exorbitant. Street vending zones must be created like in the case of Greater Chennai Corporation.” Sources in the Highways Department said that steps would be taken, along with the local body, police and Revenue department, to remove the encroachments.