A metal barricade will be installed on the divider in front of Aliah University to prevent pedestrians from crossing the road at will, an official of Hidco said.

An official said the barricade will stretch from the Akankha intersection in New Town to Ecospace.

The decision to install the metal barrier was taken after a recent survey by Hidco revealed that Aliah University Road, which runs parallel to the Major Arterial Road in New Town, is prone to accidents with pedestrians crossing the road at will. Hidco (Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation) is in charge of setting up infrastructure in New Town.

Aliah University Road or Street Number 374 is a six-lane thoroughfare with service lanes on both the Ecospace-bound and the Akankha crossing-bound flanks. The two flanks have a wide median divider.

According to the Hidco official, the metal barrier will be a contiguous fence-like structure with designated crossover points.

“We carried out a traffic safety survey and found that pedestrians were randomly crossing the road, endangering their lives. The police
also recommended the barrier to ensure pedestrians have specific crossover points,” a senior Hidco official told Metro on Thursday.

On Thursday morning, this newspaper spotted several pedestrians who crossed
over three lanes of the Akankha crossing-bound flank of the road before getting onto the divider and crossing the three lanes of the Ecospace-bound flank even as cars, buses and two-wheelers drove past.

Some pedestrians jumped right onto the path of oncoming traffic forcing drivers to brake at the last minute.

A senior officer of the Bidhannagar Commissionerate’s traffic wing said the volume of cars and bikes taking this road has increased as one can reach the airport quickly from offices like Ecospace, DLF II, TCS Gitanjali Park, Candor and Unitech.

“Pedestrians have caused multiple accidents here because of jaywalking and crossing the road even when the traffic light for motorists is green. The barricade will help in preventing such accidents,” said the officer.

The estimated cost of the project is ₹22.4 lakh, a Hidco official said.