Public opinion on the one-way rule at Vizag Beach Road

In the plan of making the Vizag Beach Road one-way to reduce traffic congestion and parking woes, the city traffic police have implemented a trial run on September 1 and 2.

The police have imposed the restriction from 4 p.m to 10 p.m both the days on the road stretching from the NTR statue to The Park hotel, on the side that shares its boundary with the beach.

Traffic police were seen spread out on the Beach Road during the trial run timings directing people and briefing them about the one-way rule. Regarding this, opinions have been floating in by the people in the city.

“The lesser of the lot would be happy with the one-way rule. It’s on the weekends and holidays which is when the Beach Road is crowded the most and would stand as a problem for people heading along VUDA Park to take a longer route. Traffic problems might incur at the Chinna Waltair road,” says Rahul Sai Vattikuti, a citizen from Vizag.

Another being from the city, Rakesh Thorlapati, said, ” The traffic at the Beach Road might reduce to some extent but the route towards Siripuram would become congested. The residents at the beach, especially the ones living in the one-way zone would find this rule uncomfortable as longer routes might be the only option to travel.”

“What if an Ambulance has to travel along the route to reach the casualties and the hospitals nearby,” he questions.

The idea, which was mooted by the Visakhapatnam‘s new Commissioner of Police, Mahesh Chandra Laddha, aims at converting the road abutting the beach into a parking area. The plan was proposed keeping in mind the heavy traffic congestion experienced on the Beach Road during holidays. The move to make Vizag Beach Road one-way, the police feel, would help in facilitating a smoother flow of traffic and make life easier for tourists as well.