Isipathana and Unawatuna: A Tale of Two Roads

Ravi Perera-JAN 22 2016

For about a year now workmen have been busy on Isipathana Road, a secondary road off Havelock Road, in the region of Colombo 5. Isipathana Road which is roughly about half-a-kilometre in length connects to both Fife Road and Chitra Lane which are access roads to the townships of Thimbirigasyaya and Narahenpita.

Beach Road, Unawatuna

 As far as I am aware, Isipathana is not a bus-route, nor is it used by heavy vehicles or commercial traffic in notable numbers, although like everywhere else in Colombo there is an increasing use of the road by the heavy vehicles now. However the bulk of the traffic on the road are the motor cars (and of course taxis) of the residents of the area and the through traffic.

The most important landmarks on this road would be the Isipathana College whose boundary occupies about half the length of the road, the Isipathana Temple, Havelocks - the famous Rugby Club, and Cool Planet - the popular department store. The rest of the road is predominantly residential and obviously middle, if not upper-middle class. One of the reasons why the road is not preferred by the heavy vehicles is probably its narrowness. It is impossible for a heavy vehicle to turn around or even park along the road without causing traffic congestion.

When large-scale road works commenced on this secondary road of only mid-level importance, many a user was left confused. What is happening? Is the road being widened, some underground pipes or a new layer of bitumen being laid perhaps? But when they learnt that the work is mainly to lay raised sidewalks (pavements) there was a sense of exasperation among them. A narrow road on which hardly two vehicles could cross is being made narrower with a wide pavement (on both sides of the road). Where previously vehicles could park freely along the Isipathana College wall, this development has drastically reduced the parking slots to a few vehicles. Today there are very few students walking to school, the vast majority commuting in vehicles. If a survey of the area was conducted it would have shown how few pedestrians use the road on a given day. But there is a wide pavement for them on either side now, while for the many thousand motor cars, the road is narrower and parking facilities mini

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