BIG IDEAS FOR BANGALORE-1 TRAFFIC

BIG IDEAS FOR BANGALORE-1 TRAFFIC
When roads are roadblocks
The woeful inadequacy of infrastructure in Bangalore is a cause of deep worry for its residents. Starting today, The Times of India brings you a weekly column in which experts, stakeholders and citizens offer their solutions
T V Mohandas Pai

The biggest challenge for Bangalore is to put in place a holistic policy for the movement of her citizens within the city. Bangalore today has a population of about 70 lakh, with 30 lakh vehicles registered, including 5 lakh cars, 1.5 lakh autorickshaws, 22 lakh two-wheelers and the rest being buses, lorries, three-wheelers and assorted vehicles. Bangalore has the secondlargest number of private vehicles in the country despite having the most profitable public transport system in India. Every day about 850 vehicles are being registered adding to the chaos on the roads.
Bangalore has other challenges. Its populace is getting wealthier and more mobile. Land policies in Bangalore are skewed and irrationally in favour of individual independent housing instead of high-density housing leading to an urban sprawl and longer commuting. It lacks a classical city centre with large employment generation centres on the outskirts. It lacks ring roads within the city, with the outer ring road being as busy as the city roads, ill-designed for fast traffic. Bangalore is long overdue for a rapid transit system which is only now being built, delayed by unnecessary political opposition. Bangalore displays all the characteristics of an overgrown small town.
Adding to the misery, the flow of traffic is chaotic with a distinct lack of discipline by the road users. This is compounded by an illequipped and inadequate police force. There has been no substantial investment in the police force over the last ten years.
There are no easy solutions. We need a plan of action spread over the next 24 months, monitored monthly by a high-level empowered group to solve them. We also need this group to create and maintain a 25-year perspective plan like Singapore so that investments are made on time to manage traffic and build transportation systems.
“The city has expanded in a very short time beyond the imagination of everybody,” was the constant refrain that came to the rescue of those in charge of the city’s development. But that was some five years ago! It’s time to move on and ensure action on the ground.
Some actions for immediate consideration include:
Staggered timings
1. School and college timings to be between 8 am and 3:30 pm so that there’s no clash with office timings
2. Offices to start by 9 am so that traffic on account of government employees doesn’t mix with this movement.
Intelligent Traffic Management
1. Study traffic patterns to devise intelligent traffic management alternatives — to give right of way to peak-hour traffic in a particular direction. This will ensure that traffic flows are managed with differential times on traffic lights 2. Synchronised traffic signals based on traffic flows 3. Availability of police personnel on all roads and intelligent deployment of the same based on traffic volumes 4. Enlist help from local communities/ industrial areas for traffic management 5. Strengthen enforcement of traffic rules 6. Installation of cameras across the city with a common command centre to ensure that offences are recorded and punished.
Development of roads
1. Complete diversion roads already sanctioned for the diversion of HTV — don’t allow HTV to plough through daily office/ school-going traffic
2. Completion of NICE road connecting Hosur Road to Tumkur Road; this will reduce congestion in South Bangalore by over 35% 3. Completion of the peripheral road linking industrial areas to allow easy access to and from the location (Tumkur Road; Bellary Road; Whitefield Industrial Area; Hosur Road) 4. Creation of inner ring road over major drains with drop-off points at various centres
5. Broaden the main traffic corridors as done in Hyderabad to hasten traffic.
Central Business District
1. Traffic studies in CBD area to deploy some intelligent traffic management strategies 2. Allocate space for parking and build multi-level parking facilities at identified locations based on traffic volumes study 3. Run buses on a merry-go-round basis from parking lots around CBD to reduce vehicles on roads
Improved Public Transport Services
1. Improved quality and frequency of buses, increasing buses at peak hours when demand is the greatest 2. Integrate rapid transit system, railway system, bus system and public parking to reduce load on roads 3. Train BMTC drivers who today stop in the middle of the roads and create traffic blocks 4. Cleaner public buses with better seats, lesser engine noise inside, with power steering for better throughput.
Infrastructure development is not just about building roads. It is about building caring and cooperative communities which will come together to work on themes for the city’s improvement that matter to them. It is about building cultures. Take the example of Bogota, and one of the largest revolutions in urban development that was achieved through unleashing the collective power of the common man.
High-powered committee
The government must authorise and empower a committee under the leadership of the chief secretary to identify and track progress the above decisions and of infrastructure development in the city 1. The committee must consist of representatives of government; citizens, industry bodies and NGOs and other stakeholders 2. This committee must be given the responsibility to bring different government and private agencies together for infrastructure development/ improvement programmes 3. Set milestones and report progress on the project to the public every month; prioritise short- and long-term projects
There is a need for citizens, the government and other stakeholders to work together. No longer can we accept that this is the government’s problem and all we need to do is criticise. All of us need to work together to change what is happening. I am optimistic that the citizens of Bangalore can bring about change in the city. We owe it to ourselves.
(The writer is member of the board, Infosys Technologies. These are his personal
views and do not represent those of the
organisation) CITIZEN’S CORNER

Traffic experts must plan, traffic police must enforce. Sadly in Bangalore, the traffic department comes up with all the plans, but fails to implement them. Talk of lane discipline, where are the lane markings? BTRAC can be a good plan to manage traffic. How about installing cameras at signals and booking violators? Reward law-abiders and punish defaulters. Change has to come from the individuals. How many IT-BT and BPO companies have taken action against erring cab drivers? Are schools punishing bus drivers for reckless driving? Has the police suspended licences of any repeat offender? The traffic flow is affected by the huge number of signals. Synchronise them or introduce underpasses to make roads signal-free. N S Mukunda, PRESIDENT, CITIZENS’ ACTION FORUM


If there is a superlative term to “chaotic”, that should be used for Bangalore traffic. Bangloreans do not follow rules. The first and foremost measure should be to discipline road users. Only sustained efforts on the part of traffic police coupled with hefty fines will bring about a semblance of discipline. Separate lanes for two wheelers and autorickshaws should be enforced ruthlessly. Even the work on World Bank-funded projects is shoddy. Such projects should be entrusted to professional companies. V Sathyamurthy, PRESIDENT, RESIDENTS WELFARE ASSOCIATION, SANJAYNAGAR