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Tamil Nadu News Papers

Residents drive civic makeover in Chetpet & Nungambakkam

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The Times of India      27.08.2014

Residents drive civic makeover in Chetpet & Nungambakkam

CHENNAI: In an encouraging trend, many residents' welfare associations in the city are coming forward to play a major role in the re-development of their locality. After residents of Harrington Road in Chetpet petitioned the corporation into coming up with a makeover plan, the civic body is considering similar re-development for Khader Nawaz Khan Road in Nungambakkam following representations from residents.

  On Wednesday, senior corporation officials are scheduled to meet residents of Khader Nawaz Khan Road to discuss the proposal. "There are plans to recover Open Space Reservation lands and construct road side parks, pavements and a parking lot. We are also considering the concretisation of the stretch. All these proposals would be incorporated with the ideas of the residents," said a corporation official.

 Many in the area say the neighbourhood, off Nungambakkam High Road, has changed from a quiet residential locality to a bustling commercial area over the last 10 years. "There has been a gradual increase in the number of commercial establishments in this area and we are struggling because of the illegal parking," said a resident.

K Chandrasekaran, councillor of ward 110 where Khader Nawaz Khan Road is located, said roadside parks had disappeared. "Many commercial firms are using it as a pathway. Residents had filed several representations about mushrooming illegal shops to civic authorities."

 Meanwhile, the 9.9 crore redevelopment project for Harrington Road, which involves laying concrete roads and granite footpaths, is in progress. The Harrington Road Residents' Welfare Association had conducted a survey and petitioned the civic body to transform it. However, some commuters say the work is not progressing fast. "There was no fault with the old road. But the civic body had simply dug up the road for a section of people, " said P Kumar, a regular commuter.

 On Tuesday, mayor Saidai S Duraisamy and corporation commissioner Vikram Kapur visited the road and told contractors to speed up the work. 

Last Updated on Wednesday, 27 August 2014 09:24
 

Corporation to tweak Ega theatre flyover plan, drop two arms

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The Times of India       27.08.2014  

Corporation to tweak Ega theatre flyover plan, drop two arms

CHENNAI: The city corporation is likely to drop two arms from the proposed flyover connecting Ega Theatre and Valluvar Kottam.

The civic body on Tuesday held a meeting to discuss the feasibility of four proposed flyovers - between Ega Theatre and Valluvar Kottam junction; one connecting Arcot Salai, Saligramam and 80 feet Road junction at K K Nagar, and one between Kotturpuram, Madhya Kailash, and the last connecting T T K Road, St Mary's Road and Chamiers Road - with representatives from agencies such as TNUIFSL (Tamil Nadu Urban Infrastructure Financial Services Limited) and Metrowater.

A corporation official said they were considering drop the exit and entry points at Spurtank Road and Harrington Road in the Ega theatre flyover. "The project was to construct a 2.7km elevated corridor to help motorists from Ega theatre to Vallur Kottam in five minutes. This was also to decongest traffic in six junctions including Ega theatre, Chetpet, Sterling road, Nungambakkam High Road, Independence Day Park and Valluvar Kottam. But the points in Harrington Road and Spurtunk Road may add to congestion in nearby areas".

Meanwhile, the civic body had suggested an 'L'-shape design for the proposed flyover connecting Kotturpuram to Madhya Kailash. "We wanted to remove the traffic bottleneck at Madhya Kailash signal. The flyover will be connected to OMR". 

Last Updated on Monday, 18 July 2016 09:09
 

SMS-based parking system to be delayed

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The Times of India       27.08.2014   

SMS-based parking system to be delayed

CHENNAI: The proposed system where motorists can book a parking slot by sending an SMS is likely to take a little longer to materialise.

The city corporation is expected to approve a proposal during Thursday's council meet to re-float tenders for the project as "the revenue model suggested by the three firms selected was found to be unviable".

As part of the proposed system, that was to be launched in 145 parking lots, an exclusive 'app' was to be developed for mobile phones to track parking availability. If launched, the city would have been the first in the country with such a system.

"The proposed system was to allow motorists to park vehicles without hassle. Since it is an automatic system, there is no scope for complaints of parking attendants fleecing motorists," said an official.

According to the plan, motorists can pay parking fee online or buy pre-paid coupons from special kiosks. "They have to register their name, vehicle number and mobile number on the website of the firm selected for the project. They have to send an SMS on reaching the parking slot and before leaving. The sum to be paid will be deducted from debit/credit card of the registered customer," said an official. Pre-paid coupons would be available at kiosks in each parking lot.

Urban planners have been urging the corporation to revise the parking fee but officials said they intended to retain current charges for four-wheelers at 5/hour.

"High parking fee will discourage motorists from using private vehicles and promote public transport," said an expert.

The corporation will share the revenue earned with the traffic police who will be tasked with cracking down on illegal parking. 

Last Updated on Wednesday, 27 August 2014 09:05
 


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