Anderson Road Dehiwala: A fatality waiting to happen

We moved in to Anderson Road, Kalubowila just a few months ago. The environment of our new home is superb - the neighbours quiet and friendly. But Anderson Road is a virtual death-trap for the pedestrian. It is a terrible nightmare that poses a real threat to the lives of the residents and their children.

This road must be about 10-15 feet wide in this very residential area. Sadly, however, the residents are unable to walk on the road without running the risk of being mowed down by some frenzied driver due to the inordinate number of vehicles that the Police divert onto this “shortcut”. Not only is the traffic congestion on this road unbearable, the Police even allow vehicles as large as excavators , staff buses and trucks transporting gas to drive through this 10-15 foot roadway!

As residents living on this road we should have the right and the possibility to walk on this road without fearing for our lives, but that is impossible. Many are the times when I together with others have escaped being knocked down by some unthinking driver while walking on the very edge of the road. In fact I have been hit by side-mirrors on two occasions. Frequently- especially during peak hours- we are forced to straddle the storm drain that runs alongside the road or step in to a gateway or some pathway to avoid being hit by vehicles.

Anderson Road is not made to handle such a huge volume of traffic, and as such it is a fatality waiting to happen. This is unfair to us who are living down this road and it is time the authorities took some urgent measures to right this injustice and remove this danger to our lives and the lives of our children who walk this road regularly.