For the last few days, what amazes me is the way watch towers function at the various junctions in Cochin. even the busiest junction of Vyttila could not ignore it. Once we are asked to look at the various improvement plans at Vyttila, watch tower started playing a major role in junction improvements in Vyttila. initially, I was thinking that I am correct in my perception about the watch towers for their utility and significance in urban mobility plans.
It was shocking once our team started observing the traffic movements at Vyttila. Junction is designed in a poor way and then the watch tower and related space take away a huge amount of land unused. if the aim of the design was to give ambiance to the whole location. it is no more there. other day, i found labour removing grass from the whole area. if they wanted to provide pedestrian island, the whole area is fenced so that no one can use the area. every one complains about Vyttila Junction and then we found out that there is so much of space for a better junction design but unfortunately they are ill managed and designed.
watch tower at Vyttila took my interest to similar junctions at other parts of the city. in most of the cases, we found that watch towers have no utility. most of them consume good space intruding into the free and seamless flow of traffic. i think we need a watch tower audit in cochin. i wish the civil society organisations will take a serious look at this issue. watch towers can be designed and erected in a better way and the space they consume at present can be left for free flow of traffic.
