No more chaos in Malleswaram?

No more chaos in Malleswaram?
Traffic Police Draw Long-Term Action Plans To Decongest Area
The Times of India

Malleswaram: Traffic police have come out with an action plan to decongest crowded Malleswaram which used to be a quiet locality some years ago. They have drawn up short and long term plans to deal with increasing traffic.

To begin with, the police have made Malleswaram 8th Cross (between Margosa Road and Sampige Road) a free pedestrian zone between 6 pm and 8 pm. Traffic has been banned on this stretch to facilitate shoppers.

“A large number of government and private sector employees live here and they come for shopping in the evenings. Allowing both the pedestrians and vehicles on the narrow road leads to congestion.” ACP traffic (North) Lakshman Singh told the Times of India.

“To facilitate faster movement of vehicles at Malleswaram Circle, we have banned right turn for vehicles coming from Geethanjali Theatre and moving towards Sampige Road. This has reduced waiting time for vehicles near Malleswaram Circle, Singh added.

Traffic jams are frequent on Mahakavi Kuvempu Road (Jambu Ganapathi Junction to Malleswaram railway overbridge), Devaiah Park and Varalakshmi Nursing Home. Reason: Frequent right turns from intersections. “We have closed some of the intersections and it has resulted in smooth flow of traffic,” he said.

Vehicles coming from Metro end (Yeshwantpur) are not allowed to enter Malleswaram 8th Main. High-rise pedestrian crossings have been installed near some schools and bus stops. These crossings will act as speed breakers too.

As a long term measure, the police have proposed the construction of a grade separator near Malleswaram circle though some residents are opposing it. Bus bays have been suggested near Malleswaram police station and there are plans to install pedestrian-friendly pelican traffic signal lights near schools. Footpaths near crowded intersections will be barricaded to prevent pedestrians from entering the roads.

OTHER PLANS ON CARDS
* Right turn for vehicles coming from Geethanjali Theatre and movement towards Sampige Road banned * Some of the intersections on Mahakavi Kuvempu Road, Devaiah Park and Varalakshmi Nursing Home have been closed * Vehicles coming from Metro end (Yeshwantpur) not allowed to enter Malleswaram 8th Main

WHAT DO THE RESIDENTS SAY?
Hawkers on Sampige Road are a big menace, they need to be shifted to some hawking zone. We have asked the civic authorities to create a zone for them. — M Ramakrishnan, retired engineer

The main problem haunting Malleswaram is movement vehicles towards Yeshwantpur and Tumkur Road. These vehicles are congesting Malleswaram Circle and Sampige Road because there is no other road for them to go to those places. The government can create a lengthy corridor from Krishna Flour Mill in Majestic to Yeshwantpur by utilising a vast government land available at Jakkarayanakere, railway over bridge, 17th Cross and Metro in Yeshwantpur. There is a proposal pending with the authorities from a long time and nobody knows why it is not being implemented.
— V K Somashekar, managing trustee, Grahak Shakthi, a civic and consumer welfare organisation