Roads across Sector V will get signs that will display street numbers and a small map of the area, and will also have in-built CCTV cameras as well as QR codes that can be scanned on a smartphone to get point-to-point directions.
The signboards will also tell motorists about traffic restrictions and various no-entry points.
The new signage will be installed by the Nabadiganta Industrial Township Authority (NDITA), an official said. “We have consulted police and will place the new boards where they are clearly visible,” an NDITA official said.
Debashis Sen, the chairman of the authority, said the signage would help motorists and commuters and also boost surveillance capabilities.
“There are 119 CCTV cameras in Sector V. We are planning to have one camera per signboard and this will boost surveillance capabilities…. They will also help everyone who has to visit Sector V and is not too familiar with the area and the traffic restrictions,” said Sen.
According to the plan, boards made of flexible material will be placed inside a transparent fibreglass casing that will be backlit by LED lighting systems and attached to 10ft high poles.
The smaller of the two boards at each site will mention the street number. Following the global practice of identifying a street by number, Sector V roads have recently been numbered 1 to 38. The north-south roads have odd numbers and the east-west ones have even numbers.
The bigger, 4ft-tall board — placed at the eye level of an average pedestrian — will display the map of the area, the distance of important crossings and landmarks from the spot and how long a pedestrian might take to walk there.
The mention of distance is primarily meant to help drivers. Care will be taken so that digits and markings are legible and bright enough for motorists to read from a distance, said an NDITA official.
“The signage has been designed to guide people through physical environments and help enhance their understanding of the space using visual cues and symbols. We want to make travelling through the township easy,” Sen said.
The signage will also denote whether a street is one-way or not.
Hundreds of office-goers are using their personal vehicles to commute to workplaces in order to avoid public transport amid the pandemic and the lack of road signage or directions have led many into no-entry zones as well as dead ends.
Neelotpal Chatterjee, a techie, said he drove for around 500m from the College More intersection towards the SDF crossing before cars coming his way made him realise his mistake.
“I somehow managed to reverse and turn the car around towards College More, from where I took a right turn and ended up in front of Godrej Waterside before finally reaching my office,” said Chatterjee.
In 2017, several roads in Sector V were made one-way.
All vehicles entering the main road from the SDF crossing and going towards EP-GP Block can now enter only through Infinity, Oxford and TCS crossings. No vehicles are allowed to take the right turn and enter from Webel or College More crossings to reach EP-GP Block.
However, there are no signs to warn motorists headed to the SDF crossing not to take a right turn from the College More intersection.
On Wednesday, Metro found several vehicles trying to take a right turn there, only to find other cars coming at them through both flanks.
The road between the SDF and Technopolis crossings was made one-way around three years back but no signage informing motorists has been installed.
To add to the worries of those new to the tech township, the old signs have not been removed. Motorists, especially those who are not Sector V regulars, often follow these signs and end up in lanes from where there is no easy way out.
The Sector V Ring Road that runs parallel to water bodies had also been made one-way. Vehicles can move from Mahisbathan towards Nicco Park but not in the opposite direction.
