South Usman Road & Ranganathan Street: The pedestrian experience

Ranganathan Street is located in Theagaraya Nagar on the approach to the Mambalam railway station in Chennai, India. Many commercial establishments can be found on Ranganathan Street. It is one of the busiest streets of Chennai. The street is a famous icon of Theagaraya Nagar and due to its proximity to the Mambalam railway station and the Theagaraya Nagar bus terminus, people from all parts of Chennai flock to Ranganathan Street for shopping, especially during the festive seasons.

                  Ranganathan Street is a shopper's paradise for people belonging to all ages. From safety pins to exquisite jewellery, the place is packed with stores brimming with goods. Right from tiny tots to school goers, teens and the elderly, Ranganathan Street has a lot to allure every visitor. Interesting food to feast on, juices to quench one’s thirst, sweet shops for the sugar hungry are part of the array of shops in Ranganathan Street. The place is very crowded at all times during the year.

                  Some of the well-known outlets on Ranganathan Street include Textile India, Saravana Stores and Jeyachandran Textiles. Every kind of household articles, music CDs, apparel and accessories can be obtained at the many stores that line the street. Vegetable and flower vendors sell their fresh wares right on the street.

                  There are no residential buildings on Ranganthan street as such, but there are a few very close to the street, such as Rams Flats, Narayana apartments and Kamakoti Flats on Rameswaram road.

Issues concerning Pedestrians:             

The crowd surges to extraordinary numbers during the festival seasons. Even at other times of the year, pedestrians have to jostle for space and use all their adroitness in evading others. Personal space and social space are at a premium here. The photographs display the lack of personal space and the number of obstacles in the pedestrian path.

This study was undertaken in the summer of 2003, when South Usman Road was still a flyover-free zone.