KBR Park One-Way Loop Leaves Pedestrians and Patients Struggling

Pedestrians, commuters, and patients visiting the Basavatarakam Indo American Cancer Hospital & Research Institute are struggling to navigate the roads around KBR Park in Hyderabad following the introduction of a continuous one-way traffic loop, citing missing footpath links and an absence of safe crossing facilities.

While the recently implemented one-way system has eased movement for motorists, it has increased vehicular speeds and created hazardous conditions for people on foot. The stretch near KBR Junction and the cancer hospital experiences heavy pedestrian movement, particularly between 7 am and 12 noon, when hundreds of patients and their attendants arrive for treatment.

Gaps in the footpath network have forced pedestrians, including individuals with limited mobility and serious health conditions, to walk directly along the carriageway. Attendants noted that the continuous, high-speed flow of vehicles poses a severe risk to lives. Patients have urged civic authorities to build and restore continuous footpaths across the affected stretches to ensure safe access to medical facilities.

Crossing the road has also become increasingly dangerous. Near the hospital stretch, attendants caring for patients during extended hospital stays regularly cross the street to rest on pavements on the opposite side. Additionally, several voluntary organisations park their vehicles on the other side of the road to distribute free lunch to patients and their attendants, requiring visitors to cross the active traffic stream.

Pedestrian movement is similarly disrupted at the junction leading towards Film Nagar, where bus commuters must cross the road to access the bus stop situated along the periphery of KBR Park. With vehicles moving continuously, pedestrians find it difficult to find gaps in traffic. Commuter Ram Madhav Rao noted that traffic signals should be installed along the stretch to interrupt continuous vehicular movement and allow pedestrians to cross safely.