Grin & bear traffic woes

Grin & bear traffic woes
Deccan Herald

Okay so Bannerghata road has become better or so say the residents, but one ride down it last week, showed it up for what it was. The road is better but the traffic aint. A tipper had sneaked into the road, its axle broke in protest and the overloaded road tipped its sand and red bricks all over, blocking traffic going out towards Bannerghata from the City. Result, a traffic jam and road rage was a mild expression for those stuck on the road for nearly two hours. This on a Saturday mid afternoon, when you would think most IT companies are closed and the traffic ought to be thinner and sparser!

The regular jam buster calls that are relayed over the radio, the telling photographs and campaigns that appear in daily newspapers, the regular protests from residents from various parts of the City, the flooding of roads, the choked drains, the fallen trees, power failure --- and we know that the infrastructure has all but collapsed in the City.

Even thought it is so much simpler to blame the civic authorities and complain that they are not doing their job, consider these points. Aren't there more vehicles on the roads now than there were say 10 years ago? Aren't late evenings and night time traffic even on pass through roads like Cubbon Park as crowded as though it was day time? Aren't peak hour timings only an aphorism? No longer does it mean that peak hour traffic is limited to a few hours one way -that is traffic going towards the schools, offices in the morning and homeward bound in the evening.

With offices now situated all over the City, for instance, the central district may house the brick and mortar companies, but many IT and ITES and BPO companies are situated southwards of the City and also dotted all over the way leading to ITPL in Whitefield. Add to this the 24/7 working hours, especially with the large number of BPOs and backend offices working nights.

24/7 peak hours

So if you imagined that morning peak hour time meant that all traffic coming from Jayanagar for instance was going towards the schools and offices, you thought wrong. They go both ways, as those living on the other side of the City go towards the south to their offices in BTM layout, Koramangala, Sarjapur Road and finally Electronic City. And Koramangala and BTM layout were primarily residential layouts only a few years ago.

Then again, shopping areas are also dotted all over the City, so no longer does it mean that those going out in the evenings to the malls or shopping centres will be travelling one way towards the centre of the City. Those living in the north of the City and the centre of the City may instead be going to the PVR at Forum in Koramangala or Family Mart in BTM layout, or even the huge Shoppers’ Stop outlet at BTM layout. Then again, those working nights, will be catching up on their shopping, movies, entertainment during the mornings and mid morning.

So let’s face it. It does not matter whether it is day or night, mid morning, a lazy afternoon or a dull weekend, there’s going to be pandemonium all over Bangalore, through the day and the night, with traffic going crazy, with everyone driving helter skelter, as they go about doing whatever they have to do. So let’s stop complaining and blaming the civic authorities. As a hotspot investment destination, Bangalore will have these growth pangs and until a workable solution is in sight, let’s learn to grin and bear it.