Jamming junction is a battle of nerves

Jamming junction is a battle of nerves
Deccan Herald

The snarled up traffic scene that greets you every morning at the Vellara junction resembles a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle that refuses to fall into place. This junction which is an epic centre to off-shoots like Hosur Road, Richmond Road, Museum Road and Brigade Road seems to be the pieces that never fit.

Serpentine vehicle queues, narrow diversions, dismal lane discipline and blaring horns mark these roads. From the looks of it, the recent-conversion of the Richmond Road into a one-way lane nor the changes in school timing, have done much to improve the traffic situation.

According to the people employed in business houses near Richmond Road, Mother Theresa Circle and Hosur Road, the vehicles have to wait for more than 15 minutes during heavy downpour or when a VIP passes-by. And on normal days, during peak hours between 8 am and 10 pm, a minimum of five minutes is spent at each traffic signal dotting these roads.

The crunch is severely felt by the residents of Victoria layout (on one end) and Neelsandra, Ejipura, Austin Town and Viveknagar (the other end) as they are forced to ply through Richmond Road to reach places including Shivaji Nagar, NR Square and Majestic area. And even if they manage to exit the Vellara Junction uneventfully, the bottle neck near the Richmond Circle flyover where rows of vehicle pile up is another inevitable obstacle.

Traffic personnel Dhananjaiah stationed near Hayes Road ( a narrow in-road that leads to Residency Road and St Marks Road on Richmond Road stretch), remarked that the vehicular movement through this diversion was particularly bad as the road was ‘narrow’ and in a poor state. Pot-holes and vehicles parked on the either side gave very little space for the vehicles. “The situation worsens during monsoons, because these roads have poor drainage system. The water stagnates and reaches till our waist making it impossible to control the traffic,” he said.

These roads are also a pedestrian’s worst nightmare because the unmanned zebra crossings serve no purpose at all. Vehicles merely gain speed near a zebra crossing for the fear of catching a signal and the pedestrians are left dodging speeding vehicles to get to the other end of the road. Incidentally, each of these roads are studded with at least one or more schools.

If this is depressing, the chaotic scene at Hosur Road (which is two-way) is even worse. The width of the road is so narrow that vehicles on one lane spill over to lane of the opposite side vehicle causing blottlenecks.

A narrow lane parallel to Richmond Road called ‘New Cambell Road’ that leads to the airport and HAL is being blamed for the fast-deteriorating situation. Vehicles coming from ITPL, Bannerghatta Raod and Adugodi all pile near this diversion causing a block for vehicles who are heading towards Vellara junction. Some others feel that the opening of the diary circle flyover has led to a surge in vehicular traffic on the New Cambell Road.

“Though the traffic has eased considerable near the Dairy circle, it has only created a pile-on effect at the turning near New Cambell Road. Vehicles including BMTC buses ply through this narrow lane,” said Mr Ramesh K, an entrepreneur on Hosur Road.

Widening the roads, elevated pedestrian crossings, restricting the movement of inter-state buses and increasing the number of traffic cops are some of the solutions coughed up by the public.

CITIZENS SPEAK

Avril Quadros, Singer, who drives on Richmond Road regularly

A comprehensive training should be given to traffic personnel about the methods to de-congest roads. During severe traffic blocks, they direct us to in-roads that only lead to more number of traffic snarls.

John K Zachriah, Principal of Cathedral High School, Richmond Road

There is no proper pedestrian crossing on this stretch. Ideally a metallic walk over should be established so that the children do not have to traverse this highly congested and sometimes even an accident-prone road.

Vinoj Mathew, employed in Lusitana cold storage on Hosur Road.

Widening of the roads, especially the Hosur Road, is one of the ways to dilute traffic snarls. Moreover, the work undertaken to widen it by clearing the fences of the park should be completed as soon as possible.

Prakash N, a trainer at Chisel gym facing Richmond Road

I have been watching the umpteen traffic jams from this gym for a long time and so far I have not seen a single traffic personnel between 7.30 am and 8.30 am manning the Richmond Road stretch.

OFFICIAL SPEAK

K Ravindra Prasad -ACP Adugodi Traffic Division

Merely widening a part of the Hosur Road will not solve the problem. A long-term solution to ease traffic congestion in the Vellara Junction is to construct an under-pass from Mother Theresa Circle to Richmond Road (similar to the one near Mekri Circle). Moreover, the lack of an alternative route for buses plying from KR Puram and Domlur to City Market and Majestic is another major cause of traffic snarls.