Let there be light

BANGALORE: Life for pedestrians in the city is not easy. With vehicles always fleeting by at breakneck speeds and pavements filled with construction material, there seem to be no place where they can go without attracting a bunch of inconveniences.People assumed that the life would get better when pelican lights were installed in busy localities such as Mekhri Circle, Cunningham Road and Koramangala.And so going by Leonard Cohen’s words, ‘There is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in’, the light did flash on Queen’s Road. When the pelican lights were instated on Queen’s Road, people were relieved as crossing the road is not an easy task. However, the first few months after its installation, it chose not to work.But now it is working and has made crossing a much easier task. The queues of vehicles stop at the cross before the junction if one chooses to press the button enabling them to cross the road without much difficulty.While this has been a move that has been heavily criticised by the motorists as it takes an average of fifteen to twenty minutes for one to pass through the signal, pedestrians say it was needed as they couldn’t the road without it.A pedestrian, on the condition of anonymity, said, “They weren’t working until a while ago. But I guess the concerned authorities realised the jeopardy at which people were put and decided to get them working.” Avani, a motorist, however had different views regarding the same.“What one has to realise is that it is one of the busiest traffic junctions in the whole city. Pedestrians can cross at the signal junction if they have to as it just a few metres away.But now putting a signal here is going to increase the traffic woes multifold.” While one cannot conclude on whether this a boon or a bane, another matter of concern is regarding the working of the pelican signals on Cunningham Road.‘Surprising’ people it chooses to work on only a few days.“With Miller’s Road traffic having been rediverted into Miller’s Tank Bund Road, it is so severely difficult for us to cross this road without signals.If they do not work, what is the whole point of them being present in the first place?” questioned Girija, an elderly citizen.