Traffic management authority on the cards for Bangalore

Traffic management authority on the cards for Bangalore

The Hindu

The city has 24 lakh vehicles on its roads


BANGALORE: With almost 900 new vehicles being registered every working day in the city, the Government is working on a plan to create a Bangalore Metropolitan Traffic Management Authority. The Karnataka State Road Development Corporation is in charge of the plan to provide for comprehensive traffic management for the city proper and areas around it.

More automated traffic signals, concealed cameras and other devices to help catch traffic offenders and use of technology to reduce traffic congestion are among components in the plan. The city traffic police, actively involved in the project have made projects, for indicated the needs during the next four years and ahead.

Being the information technology hub of the region has not only brought Bangalore large-scale investments from overseas but also created a large market for vehicles for personal use.

So far 70 per cent to 75 per cent of the new vehicles being registered are two-wheelers, but the proportion may be fast changing according to transport authorities.

Higher incomes, easily available vehicle loans, distances to places of work and residence and lack of reliable public transport, are cited as reasons for the city by now having close to 24 lakh vehicles on its roads.

Bangalore and its immediate suburbs together have a road length of 4,200 km.

But the width of the roads and their surfacing are inadequate to accommodate such a large number of vehicles, according to studies done by bodies such as the Indian Roads Congress.

Some busier roads now bear a load almost double of what they were built for, traffic police authorities point out. On the positive side, slower traffic and stricter rules may have reduced the number of serious road accidents.

Peak-hour traffic hold-ups have not come down as expected after the construction of flyovers and grade separators at several important road junctions such as City Market, Mysore Road, Richmond Circle and Airport Road. Ulsoor Road, Airport Road, Bannerghatta Road, Residency Road and Victoria Road still suffer from traffic snarls, one-way rules or not.

The proposed Metropolitan Traffic Management Authority will also have to coordinate with other government agencies in trying to control air and noise pollution, a direct fallout of the increasing number of vehicles on the roads. Traffic management authority on the cards for Bangalore

Special Correspondent

The city has 24 lakh vehicles on its roads


BANGALORE: With almost 900 new vehicles being registered every working day in the city, the Government is working on a plan to create a Bangalore Metropolitan Traffic Management Authority. The Karnataka State Road Development Corporation is in charge of the plan to provide for comprehensive traffic management for the city proper and areas around it.

More automated traffic signals, concealed cameras and other devices to help catch traffic offenders and use of technology to reduce traffic congestion are among components in the plan. The city traffic police, actively involved in the project have made projects, for indicated the needs during the next four years and ahead.

Being the information technology hub of the region has not only brought Bangalore large-scale investments from overseas but also created a large market for vehicles for personal use.

So far 70 per cent to 75 per cent of the new vehicles being registered are two-wheelers, but the proportion may be fast changing according to transport authorities.

Higher incomes, easily available vehicle loans, distances to places of work and residence and lack of reliable public transport, are cited as reasons for the city by now having close to 24 lakh vehicles on its roads.

Bangalore and its immediate suburbs together have a road length of 4,200 km.

But the width of the roads and their surfacing are inadequate to accommodate such a large number of vehicles, according to studies done by bodies such as the Indian Roads Congress.

Some busier roads now bear a load almost double of what they were built for, traffic police authorities point out. On the positive side, slower traffic and stricter rules may have reduced the number of serious road accidents.

Peak-hour traffic hold-ups have not come down as expected after the construction of flyovers and grade separators at several important road junctions such as City Market, Mysore Road, Richmond Circle and Airport Road. Ulsoor Road, Airport Road, Bannerghatta Road, Residency Road and Victoria Road still suffer from traffic snarls, one-way rules or not.

The proposed Metropolitan Traffic Management Authority will also have to coordinate with other government agencies in trying to control air and noise pollution, a direct fallout of the increasing number of vehicles on the roads.