Trucks main cause of traffic congestion

Trucks main cause of traffic congestion

The Hindu

Despite a ban order, lorries flout the rule

# Movement of trucks is banned between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. and 8 p.m.
# The growth of residential layouts adjoining Mysore Road has also contributed to the increasing chaos



BANGALORE: Mysore Road has become congested because of unregulated movement of trucks during peak hours. Despite a ban on the movement of trucks between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. on the stretch between KIMCO Junction and the down ramp of Mysore Road Flyover, trucks merrily flout the rule.

Scientific traffic management appears a victim despite an increase in traffic owing to the growth of a number of residential layouts adjoining Mysore Road and up to Bidadi. Strangely, the traffic police do not have data on the number of vehicles passing through various junctions.

The stretches near the down ramp of the flyover, Pipeline Junction, Guddadahalli Junction, Gali Anjaneyaswamy Temple, Byatarayanapura Police Station, KIMCO Junction, Mysore Road-Outer Ring Road Junction and Nayandahalli become traffic bottlenecks during peak hours.

Trucks carrying goods to and from traders in Chamarajapet, KR Market and Chikpet and warehouses adjoining Mysore Road appear from nowhere even during peak hours affected the flow of traffic. Vehicles move at a snail's pace during peak hours near the flyover down ramp and other places.

The new Mysore Road Bus Terminal of the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) near Guddadahalli has added to woes of the road user. KSRTC and Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) buses emerging out of the terminal towards Mysore turn left on to the road blocking traffic movement. Absence of a "bell-shaped" exit at the terminal has been the reason for the problem.

Traffic from Mysore towards the city queues up to Shell Petrol Pump during peak hours before passing through the KIMCO Junction. While traffic towards Mysore from the city is given more time due to a right-turn towards Vijayanagar on Chord Road, traffic from Mysore is allotted less time.

Down near Mysore Road-Outer Ring Road Junction, traffic piles up as vehicles from Mysore side towards the Outer Ring Road slowly negotiate the curve and the bridge on Vrishabhavathi due to unauthorised parking of sand-laden trucks on Outer Ring Road's gradient.

Still further, near Nayandahalli, traffic jams have become common due to unchecked parking of private maxi-cabs on both sides of the Mysore Road that illegally ferry passengers.

When contacted, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic-West) Ramasubba told The Hindu that the police had been penalising erring truck drivers who violated the ban during peak hours. Also, "right turns" at several junctions had been banned during peak hours to regulate traffic movement.