Hellish Roads 10: Tumkur Road

Two-wheeler riders run the risk of being mowed down by the heavy vehicles near the Yeshwanthpur-Tumkur highway junction.

HELLISH ROADS-10
YESHWANTHPUR, TUMKUR ROADS
FIVE ROADS AND A NIGHTMARE
Times of India

The Yeshwanthpur-Tumkur highway junction, among the biggest in the city, is a nightmare for those coming into the city from the North direction.

It links five busy roads — Triveni Road, C.V. Raman Road, Tumkur highway, Malleswaram 18th Cross and Bazaar Street. The five-limb junction is operating beyond saturation, with 9,000 passenger car units (PCU) of traffic plying on the stretch against the 6,000 PCU capacity.

While two-wheeler riders and pedestrians run the risk of getting mowed down by BMTC buses speeding in and out of a depot at the junction, it’s an endless wait at the traffic signal for others. There is also a large number of KSRTC and private buses, plying on the stretch. Adding to the chaos is the location of major commercial establishments and manufacturing units around the junction. The Peenya industrial area,

Metro, IISc, BEL, Yeshwanthpur railway station and market and APMC add to the junction’s cup of woes.

1 Major problems:
• Haphazard movement of BMTC buses.
• There is no regulation for parking on the stretch.
• Improper location of bus stand, market and signals. Narrow (less than 25 feet) two-way roads get jammed with traffic.

2 Immediate solutions:
• Flyover at the junction.
• Reduce signal time (presently 165 seconds).
• Deployment of more traffic personnel.

3 What police say: The immediate answer to improve the situation is to construct a flyover at the junction. A proposal in this connection is being looked into, says DCP Traffic (West) M.T. Naik.

EXPERT OPINION

Prof. M. N. Srihari,
• An ideal and efficient signal time is 120 seconds at junctions.
• Traffic islands can be created at the junction like Hudson Circle.
• Flyover is an immediate need.
• With the present connectivity being bad, authorities should plan parallel roads and grade separators for better connectivity.
• Dedicated lanes or a flyover for BMTC buses and other heavy transport vehicles.