KNK Road goes pedestrian; traffic, parking chaos hit Wallace Garden and Rutland Gate

Pedestrianisation of Khader Nawaz Khan (KNK) Road, an arterial thoroughfare between Utthamar Gandhi Salai and Greams Road, despite opposition from the residents in the area, has left longtime inhabitants of the area in a quandary.

Nearly all the narrow streets in the surrounding 4.5 square kilometre radius, especially Wallace Garden and Rutland Gate, have been facing the uncontrolled commercialisation of the neighbourhood, traffic snarls, parking menace, and noise pollution, said the locals.

P.T. Krishnan, veteran architect and resident of Wallace Garden since 1973, said, “The land-use pattern for these areas, as per the Second Master Plan of Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA), was designated as a ‘mixed residential zone’, which allows for only a limited level of commercial activity, but the reality is different.”

Residents cited a report prepared by private consultants for GCC, which stated that the infrastructure in  Wallace Garden and Rutland Gate needed strengthening to enable easy movement of all modes of transport.
| Photo Credit:
B. JOTHI RAMALINGAM

“Over the years, some high-end shops came up, and later major hospitals came up along the periphery. But now, after the CMDA said that with special permission, the limitations on commercial use could be waived allowing for unlimited commercial floor space in a single building, there has been rapid commercialisation of many buildings,” he said.

Parking allocation for a residential complex differs from that of commercial and mixed-use buildings. Unregulated on-street parking by a transient population has increased due to rampant commercialisation. “Many existing residential building owners have converted their houses partly or fully into shops and cafés without catering to the revised parking requirements. Residents have been flagging these problems with Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) and CMDA since 2024, but the suggestions were not considered,” he said.

Now, even ambulances and school buses, apart from motorists, are diverted to the smaller streets of Wallace Garden and Rutland Gate to reach Greams Road and Nungambakkam, since the pedestrian-priority KNK Road allows traffic to pass only one way towards Uttamar Gandhi Salai.

Adding to this, the visiting population for KNK Road parks vehicles haphazardly on these already narrow roads, reducing the width of the carriageway. This also leads to conflicts between motorists, traffic jams and constant honking, residents said.

They cited a report prepared by private consultants for GCC during the project’s inception, which stated that the infrastructure in these two localities needed strengthening “to cater to the KNK Road development and for easy movement of all modes of transport”. However, in the Government Order dated March 29, 2023, this requirement was excluded, the locals alleged.

“Residents should have been consulted. Plans should have been explained by the authorities before starting the project. Cafés and restaurants remain open till 11 p.m., and late-night activities go on unchecked. Permitting such operations should have been done after considering the people who have been living there for decades, especially the elderly,” said Mr. Krishnan.

The upmarket crowd that shops at KNK Road, which has both commercial and residential spaces, is different from those visiting T. Nagar, which was already a fully commercial area. There will be more cars arriving at KNK Road, but there is no multi-level parking or proper system to regularly charge motorists, according to the Wallace Garden and Rutland Gate Residents’ Association. “We are taking the legal route to resolve matters. KNK Road used to accommodate nearly 600 cars a day. Where will residents park those now,” asked a member.

Lane dug up

Two small portions of the lane were opened up two days ago, and work is now ongoing to fix the issues, further reducing the carriageway, said a security guard at one of the stores on KNK Road.

According to local civic authorities, there was an issue with one of the underground pipelines due to nearby Metro Rail work, which would be fixed within four days.

Parking slots

Mr. Krishnan, mentioning that a complete overhaul or project reversal is not possible now, suggested identifying clearly marked parking slots along interior lanes, with signage displaying parking charges. “Towing is not the solution and preventive measures are needed. Open spaces in Wallace Garden and Rutland Gate can be used for paid parallel or perpendicular parking which will ease traffic flow,” he said. He also suggested a separate system to collect and manage commercial and food waste and to temporarily suspend the CMDA rule allowing unrestricted commercial approvals in mixed residential areas until infrastructure issues are resolved.

“The vehicles parked on the pavements and bays are not charged by the police. Also, many alm seekers sleep with their infants on the seating for several hours, but they are not asked to move. Public smoking is rampant. There is only one traffic police to control the one-way traffic. More personnel are needed to keep a check on all issues”, Udhaya, a worker at one of the shops on KNK Road, said.

Security guards from Ripon Buildings were deployed to assist the Chennai City Traffic Police in managing vehicle movement. “There are over 10 police personnel assigned around this area so far. Two to three more police personnel will soon be deployed for this road alone to regulate vehicle movement, make parking provisions and levy charges regularly. The department is coordinating with the GCC for this,” said Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic-South) P. Vijayakumar.

A smart parking plan and a survey to identify open spaces, including private ones, and assess the feasibility of using them as parking spots are being undertaken, said a senior GCC official.

Published – February 09, 2026 12:28 am IST