Can flyovers solve Bangalore’s traffic woes?

Can flyovers solve Bangalore’s traffic woes?
Deccan Herald

We have traffic policemen directing traffic on top of the flyover; probably the only flyover in the world to do so!


The usefulness of flyovers has a dubious history in Bangalore. Ex Chief Minister S M Krishna stated from atop the Richmond Circle flyover that the future of traffic flyovers in Bangalore lay in such ‘mini flyovers’ and not in the types of the long flyovers like the Sirsi Circle flyover built earlier (said during the inauguration ceremony of the Richmond Circle flyover).

However, this flyover turned out to be an absolute planning failure. We have traffic policemen directing traffic on top of the flyover; probably the only flyover in the world to do so!

As an acclaimed architect said during a public discussion ‘Richmond Circle flyover is the only flyover in the world with a traffic light / cop on top (as well as below it)!’

And the traffic jams continue below the flyover! Why do we have such traffic planning failures along with horrendously badly planned ‘circuitous one ways’ in Bangalore?

Is it because of a lack of quality urban planners or because of the lack of city managers to listen to alternative urban planning strategies?

The usefulness of ‘mini flyovers’ has been debated periodically in recent times. Hopefully this debate helps to spread awareness, especially to our city managers who clearly don’t like to consider differing viewpoints/alternatives before making decisions on the city’s future.

The problem is that one-sided ideas may never allow for right decision making. How do we get differing alternatives on the city manger’s table? Let our decision makers think about that.

At least then we may avoid constructing such redundant and wasteful infrastructure, examples mentioned above and below.

Traffic congestion

In congested city areas, where traffic intersections are at close intervals, it has been well stated many times before that ‘a mini flyover simply passes the traffic flow problems onto the next traffic intersection’.

Then, through what techno-economic and cost benefit studies has the Bangalore City Corporation proposed many additional mini flyovers and grade separators in its budget of 2006- 2007?

In Chennai, I have been told that there is a traffic light right at the end of a flyover.

In Bangalore, as stated above, it is worse — we have a traffic cop/light right on top of it, and below it!!

Why do city managers /engineers who have planned such ‘infrastructural disasters’ like these continue to plan for the future? Why not listen to a cross section of the city’s professionals, many of whom have returned with worldwide experience of better infrastructure and living conditions (which can be useful as Bangalore hopes to become a global city)?

This should allow the tax paying citizens of the city a right as they are stake holders in the future of the city.

Sirish Patel, the architect of Mumbai’s first flyover at Kemp’s corner in 1965 says “It is a proven fact that flyovers have never been a solution to the city’s traffic problem. They simply shift bottlenecks from one point to another… In Europe they are discouraging construction of flyovers.”

So where are traffic flyovers needed? Answer — along expressways, so as not to slow down fast moving continuous traffic. These are connected to other expressways by means of flyovers, for example a north-south expressway can be connected to an east-west expressway (an expressway, even if passing through the city, should not have traffic intersections; this is expedited by means of flyovers and underpasses).

According to press reports, the City Infrastructure Review Committee (CIRC) headed by Chief secretary B K Das has proposals for toll flyover expressways, like from the Raj Bhavan to the Hebbal flyover, and from Whitefield to Trinity Circle.

Imagine encouraging all those vehicles from the outskirts of the city to come into the heart of the town from all directions, from the Hebbal area and then download them in the the Raj Bhavan area, that is in the Central Business District (CBD).

Urban planning

As if the CBD does not have enough traffic problems at present! I wonder why the CIRC does not have any experienced and qualified urban planners on the committee, so that such issues/alternative suggestions may be discussed during the planning stages, rather than wasting our scarce resources on poorly planned expressway and/or mini flyovers (examples mentioned above and below).

In 1992, US President George Bush Sr passed into law that funds for infrastructure projects could be provided only after consultation and approval of the citizens of the affected areas in the city.

Legislation

Probably the Indian and state governments should consider a similar legislation. Then we could avoid major infrastructure planning mistakes like the ones mentioned above and also like the one at K R Puram,the ‘so-called suspension bridge’ which has created an almost one kilometre long high wall below the bridge, thereby physically separating two adjacent neighbourhoods which had been living as neighbours for many decades earlier. I

Isn’t this kind of urban/traffic planning insensitive to the physical, social and emotional needs of the people in the neighbourhoods?

Active citizen and genuine government collaboration/participation can help avoid bad urban planning and wasteful infrastructure project expenses. They have worked wonders for cities abroad, which have had similar exponential growth as Bangalore is seeing today.

Can we take a page or two from this experience to retrieve the situation in Bangalore?