The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has begun constructing pedestrian refuge islands at six locations on EM Bypass.
They are being built at Avishikta, Kalikapur, Singhabari, Mukundapur, Ajaynagar and Hiland Park.
The move follows an appeal by police to the civic body last year pressing for construction of refuge islands on the stretch of EM Bypass south of Ruby to ensure safe crossover of pedestrians on the busy thoroughfare.
Once the proposed Metro service between New Garia and Ruby begins, the number of people crossing EM Bypass will go up and the pedestrian refuge islands will offer a place to stand in the middle of the road, the police said.
A pedestrian island at the Kalikapur crossing on the Bypass.
“There are no subways on the Metro route between New Garia and Ruby. Passengers getting off at Metro stations and looking to crossover will have no other option but to walk across the Bypass,” said a senior police officer.
“We had therefore proposed setting up pedestrian refuge islands at six locations between Avishikta and Hiland Park. The KMC has begun the work. We hope it will be wrapped up shortly,” the officer said.
A pedestrian refuge island, a globally recognised concept in urban traffic management, is a small section of pavement where pedestrians can stop before resuming their walk across the intersection.
A few such islands have already come up in the city, at the Dorina and Exide crossings. Pedestrians who fail to cross from one end of the road to another during one cycle of a traffic signal can now wait at these islands.
A pedestrian island at the Mukundapur crossing on EM Bypass.
The section between New Garia and Ruby spans 5.4km out of the total 32km elevated corridor till Airport.
Once the New Garia-Ruby service begins, passengers from Dakshineswar can reach Ruby by Metro, switching lines at the New Garia station.
Metro Railway plans to introduce a common token for the ride.
“Iron railings are being installed on either side of the median divider on this part of EM Bypass to prevent crossover by pedestrians. Pedestrian barriers made of steel
are also being set up beneath the Jyotirindra Nandi and Satyajit Ray Metro stations,” said a senior official of the KMRC, the agency which is implementing the Metro work.
Among the intersections, the Avishikta crossing — with a part leading to the
Prince Anwar Shah Road connector towards Jadavpur police station — is one
of the busiest along EM Bypass after Ruby.
The Thoroughfare here is about 37m-wide.
“The island for pedestrians is being built around a Metro pillar that stands in the middle of EM Bypass near this intersection. We have asked
the KMC engineers to complete the work at the earliest,” the officer said.
Senior KMC officials said they had received many proposals for setting up pedestrian refuge islands on several roads across the city.
“Once the work on this stretch of the Bypass is completed, we will survey other locations and then decide,” a senior engineer of the KMC’s roads department said.