Metro Project Puts Foot Overbridges on Hold on Avinashi Road

While completing the final touch-up for the elevated corridor on Avinashi Road in Coimbatore, concerns focus on pedestrian safety. Plans to construct foot overbridges (FOBs) at five major junctions have all been postponed, following the upcoming launch of the Metro Rail project.

Initially, the Highways Department was to survey and identify a few important junctions along Avinashi Road for constructing the foot overbridge so that pedestrians could cross the road safely and effectively. However, at this point, Chennai Metro Rail Limited has put a halt to any current FOB plans as part of the Metro Rail project for Coimbatore. To date, CMRL plans to integrate some ten more modern FOBs as part of the Metro infrastructure, which, according to them, will provide long-term and better-connected solutions.

This, however, creates a glaring vacuum in pedestrian safety measures along this stretch, which experiences heavy traffic. For its part, the Highways Department has taken temporary measures by marking zebra crossings and planning the installation of pelican signals, which are pedestrian-controlled traffic signals, and warning boards at key crossing points to alert drivers.

According to officials, holding off construction on the FOBs at this point will save public money and prevent redundant effort, as Metro FOBs would provide better integration with the stations and urban mobility plans. Still, safety activists and residents express concerns for the promotion of immediate pedestrian infrastructure, especially for the elderly, schoolchildren, and commuters on foot.

It has been the major arterial stretch of Avinashi Road to connect Coimbatore city with its outskirts and airport, and traffic decongestion works were underway in this corridor. With the Metro project in mind, as the elevated corridor is nearing readiness, it is now necessary that there are arrangements for coordination between civic agencies, as delaying infrastructure could compromise public safety levels.

Till such time the Metro project rolls out its own FOB network, authorities advise pedestrians to use marked crossings and signal alerts, which are temporary but essential safety measures.