Hellish Roads 1: MG Road, Brigade Road and Church Street

Driving here can be a real test of one’s patience. (Right) A familiar rush-hour scene at the M.G.Road-Brigade Road junction near Cauvery Handicrafts showroom.



Brigade Road

HELLISH ROADS - I
SHOWCASE TO TRAFFIC WOES!
TOI kicks off a new series on Bangalore's roads to hell with MG Road, Brigade Road and Church Street
Times of India

Em Gees, Brigades and Church Street — favourite hangouts of Bangaloreans and tourists alike. Come Saturday and Sunday, all roads in the city lead here. Shopping malls, pubs, icecream parlours and restaurants are humming with activity till late hours.

With more shopping malls and restaurants coming up in this showcase locality, parking space is shrinking by the day. The situation is expected to turn worse if the administration and the police do not address the infrastructure problem.

1
What volume of traffic can these roads take?
M.G. Road can take a maximum of 6,000 cars per hour, but over 20,000 cars ply on this road during peak hour on Saturday evening. Brigade Road can take around 4,000 cars per hour, but the number of vehicles plying on the road is 16 000 plus.

2
What are the police doing?

• They have a special traffic plan for M. G.Road and Brigade Road on Saturdays. Autorickshaws are not allowed on this road between Anil Kumble junction and Brigade Road intersection.
• Apart from policemen, traffic wardens and NGOs are deployed on the road to organise movement of vehicles between 4 pm and 10 pm. Senior officers including the jurisdictional ACP and DCP personally monitor the situation.

3
What the police say...

• “If the infrastructure is not created, the system will collapse one day,” admits DCP (Traffic) M.A. Saleem.
• “We need more parking space. BCC should not grant permission to shops, hotels and pubs which do not provide ample parking space to their customers. Building owners should be asked to keep enough parking space,” ACP (Traffic- Central) Lakshman Singh who is in-charge of traffic in these areas adds.

4
Is there some respite coming?
A multi-storied parking lot is coming up on Magrath Road. This might help ease the traffic to some extent.

5
Any other suggestions offered?

• Why not have vehicles parked at the Parade Grounds, ask some experts.
• Ban parking on Brigade Road and M.G. Road between Anil Kumble and Brigade Road junction during peak hours on Saturdays and festive occasions.
• Fine violators strictly. Vehicles are still crossing the yellow line. If M.G. Road is really a no-tolerance zone, so be it. But the law should be enforced.

EXPERT OPINION
Prof M.N. Sreehari

Convert M.G.Road into a one-way on weekends and during festivals. Use the parallel Cubbon Road to divert traffic for the other way.
Restrict buses, autorickshaws and cycles on this road at least on the stretch between Kumble Circle and Cauvery Emporium.
Ban vehicular movement of vehicles on the road during weekends — just like in squares and central business districts in London or in Singapore.
Encourage people to walk in this area. And fine violators heavily.

PHONE -IN
If you have any suggestions on decongesting M.G. Road and Brigade Road during weekends, please call on 25587287 between 11 am and 12 noon or email us at: hellishroads@indiatimes.com