Kalasipalya: Where traffic runs wild

Kalasipalya: Where traffic runs wild
New Indian Express

BANGALORE: Kalasipalya is a part of the city that has a strong persona of its own but will not figure in ‘Brand’ Bangalore. Similarly, traffic problems at Kalasipalya do not make headlines either.

One word that succinctly describes traffic at Kalasipalya is probably - Chaos. There are no traffic jams here but just a disorderly, slow moving traffic. The main reasons for this are:

Large number of buses, both BMTC and private, use these roads. Most buses heading towards the South of Bangalore are supposed to use the new BMTC bus terminal in Shantinagar, but they still use the Kalasipalya bus terminal.

Kalasipalya Main Road is too narrow to handle the large volume of traffic. In addition to this, the roads have also been dug up by the Corporation for the drains. This has further narrowed the road, with construction materials left on the sides of the road.

Haphazard parking of BMTC buses in front of Vani Vilas stop, contributes to the confusion on this road.

Two-wheeler riders cutting through gaps between buses and maneuvering between the bus stop cause minor accidents and adds to the disarray. Kalasipalya also houses K R Market, which is a hub of commercial activity. Most goods entering the city come first to K R Market.

Large number of pedestrians. This includes the vendors from rural areas, buyers, commuters and shoppers who visit Chickpet and K R Market.

SOLUTIONS: Strict action on private buses

“Apart from the fact that Kalasipalya, being a market area, is bound to have heavy traffic, the idle parking of private and mofussil buses causes more problems. This should be stopped. If unauthorised buses are checked as well, it will reduce the volume of buses here. This will ease up the traffic, but if the bus stop is developed and maintained well, then the traffic situation can change drastically”, says DCP Traffic (West) Rama Subba.

Plans for upgrading bus stop

“It is difficult to make too many changes in the Kalasipalya Bus Stand (KBS) due to the paucity of land and also because it is the main place for buying and selling of goods. But the Corporation has plans to remodel and upgrade KBS based on the BOT (Build, Operate, Transfer) model. Once the bus stand is upgraded, the buses parked at Vani Vilas stop will also be moved to KBS, decongesting the road. The new bus stand will also have multi-storied parking lot and will provide parking space for mofussil buses”, comments technical consultant to the BBMP Commissioner R Jayaprasad.