Should roads be shut down for the 'morning walkers' ?

The state government has decided to open the Museum-Vellayambalam road in the trivandrum city for a couple of hours in the morning ,exclusively for the pedestrians . During this time, the vehicles will not be allowed to pass through this road as it will be open for morning walkers only . This move provides ample space for the pedestrians to walk without the fear of traffic. The road selected as a part of this is in the heart of the city. But , this road could be chosen as there are alternate roads for connecting different parts of the city without crossing the Museum-Vellayambalam road.

Though this provides a path for the walkers, there are other issues to be thought about. If the traffic along this road is to be avoided for a couple of hours in the morning, it would affect the travellers badly, as the alternate routes might be longer than this one. For instance, if an ambulance comes along this way during this time, there are only two options available. One is to allow the ambulance to pass through the road, which would affect the pedestrians as they would be walking freely without thinking about the traffic. The second option is to force the ambulance to take a round about route, which is not advisable. Also, there are a few schools in the city, which start early in the morning. Thus shutting down of a road in the heart of the city would make things difficult. It would affect all, but the pedestrians as they will have to take round about routes.

It has been told that though government had announced about the shutting down of the road, there is no legal provision to back it up. It is to be noted that the grounds of Museum, the Kanakakunnu palace premises etc are along the sides of the same road. So it would be a good idea to ensure that the pedestrians use those places for their morning walk without diverting the traffic. This would help both ' morning walkers ' and ' non walkers ' and seems to solve the issue. So it is important to think about the issue and take the corrective steps, trying to uphold public interest .