Traffic situation may deteriorate if parking space is not provided

Traffic situation may deteriorate if parking space is not provided
The Hindu

More malls are coming up and vehicle movement around those locations will be hit

# A mall near Trinity Circle is almost ready for business
# UB City complex on Vittal Mallya Road is set to open later this year

Bangalore: Unless the civic administration and the police take pains to ensure all major commercial complexes provide ample parking space, the traffic situation may deteriorate in the city's central district in the months to come.

More malls are coming up and some are ready to open for business. Developers have realised that those living in the outer suburbs also crave the mall experience so some of those in the pipeline will be located in the suburbs, one even on the Outer Ring Road. But this could just mean more traffic at those locations as those living in a neighbourhood such as Koramangala may opt to shop on the ring road.

The mall near Trinity Circle is almost ready for business and the UB City complex on Vittal Mallya Road is set to open later this year. The Sigma Grand on Outer Ring Road and Esteem Mall in Hebbal are others soon to meet the shoppers' demands. Recent weeks have seen two unique types of malls, some, perhaps, the first in this region: the IT Mall off Brigade Road and Sapna Book Mall in Gandhinagar.

By next year there may be eight more malls added to the city and its suburbs. Some large and others mid-sized. The Prestige Group whose Forum Mall on Hosur Road near Koramangala has been a hit, is building Forum II near Whitefield to cater to the sprawling information technology-biotechnology belt and the many business process outsourcing firms around that location.

Other malls with their eyes on those with large disposable incomes are the Mantri malls coming up on Sarjapur Road and Raheja Palm Beach Galleria at Madiwala. These too will attract the high salaried IT professionals of Koramangala. The malls also attract the young crowd, including collegians, who want to "chill out" rather than do any serious shopping. Cafeterias, restaurants, food courts and multiplexes will draw them into the malls, developers say.

Garuda Mall on Magrath Road that has been a big success will have its promoters building Garuda II in Jayanagar to attract the South Bangalore shoppers. Rajajinagar and Yeshwantpur, considered rather sedate areas, will get the Global Mall and Brigade Gate respectively, perhaps changing the shopping habits of their residents.

Last year was a boom period for mall developers. The all-woman Eva Mall opened on Brigade Road, Sigma Mall on Cunningham Road besides the Garuda Mall. Bangalore Central on Residency Road near Mayo Hall has become a popular hangout.

City planners, and the civic administration, which is involved in some of the developments, say parking space within the complexes is a must. Both Forum and Garuda have provided multi-level parking for close to a 1,000 cars each and other space for two-wheelers.