mid-day Opinion: Ensure signals and signage are always visible

Representational Image

At least three signals have raised commuter concerns on the stretch leading to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport's Terminal 2, a mid-day report revealed.

One of these three signals is on the blink, and the other two are hidden by vegetation, effectively rendered invisible.

Pictures accompanying our report showed the signals hidden by overgrowth. Especially worrying is the fact that the faulty signal is at a crucial junction used by those who do not wish to take the elevated road. There are no speed breakers on the stretch, which means speeding cars, faulty signals and no speed breakers are a recipe for disaster on this stretch.

This edit goes beyond one or two signals and specifically this junction, to flag a larger problem of signals and sometimes signage becoming invisible. While here, it is about vegetation; several times, some posters are obscuring vital safety infra like signals. These posters, many of them the inane self-congratulatory posters put up through the city, congratulating our sterling politicians, partially hide these signals. At times, trucks and huge vehicles are parked at corners, turning a stretch into a virtual blind spot for citizens. Even signage warning of a sharp turn ahead or a road closed is, at times, covered by banners. This is a significant compromise on road safety, and authorities cannot or should not ‘wait' to be informed about it. Traffic authorities need to keep a wary eye out at all times. In a city where driving, walking, and crossing roads are challenging to say the least, every attempt must be made to keep order and mitigate danger.