SMALL CAR boon or bane?

SMALL CAR boon or bane?
TIMES NEWS NETWORK


Are small cars going to add to traffic woes in the city? With the small car boom, the IT city, already bursting at the seams with private vehicles, should be prepared for five to 6 lakh more cars. Bangalore’s vehicular population could overtake that of Delhi, which today has more vehicles than any other Indian city.
Bangalore had 31 lakh vehicles as on October 2007 — 21.1 lakh two-wheelers, 4.68 lakh cars, 94,000 three-wheelers, 7,500 jeeps, 26,000 taxis, 44,000 buses, 1 lakh trucks, maxicabs and other vehicles. Delhi’s vehicular population is estimated at 48 lakh.
Cars have been in demand for quite a while now, even as plans to offer the consumer a Rs 1-lakh car were unveiled only recently.”The way people are going for personalized transportation, there will be chaos on roads. More than traffic management systems, the authorities should think of the immediate repercussions of the car boom. More than 60% of city roads are narrow and cannot take additional vehicles,’’ traffic expert M N Srihari said.
Road-widening is not a solution, say experts. Narrow roads are choked with two-wheelers and cars, while two-lane roads are filled with buses, cars and bikes. Over the past 6 years, about 96 roads have been proposed for widening. However, little has been achieved, owing to litigation and unscientific projects. “Road widening is an impossible task in central districts. The roads are capable of holding only 8-10 lakh vehicles. From now on, more vehicles means more chaos,’’ pointed out Srihari.
At present, the width of 80% of the roads is less than 30 m. Motorists can ply at a constant speed of 30 km/hr only on 11% of the roads. At this rate, city traffic will become dysfunctional when 1,300 vehicles climb on to the roads daily. “Availing vehicle loans has become a day’s work. Many private banks are coming forward to sanction loans, which is making the buying option easy,’’ RTO Yelahanka, Syed Shafi Ahmed, said. At a recent seminar on traffic management, experts aired their suggestions to restrict registration of vehicles. They said car buyers, before going for registration, should be asked to prove that they have parking space both at office and home. However, government representatives at the seminar cited technical difficulties in implementing such a procedure.
Has the time come to extend the city, probably on the outskirts? Some experts have mooted an idea of developing more townships. The eastern part of the city has already been stretched up to Hoskote. The northern area is full of activity as a result of the new airport project. The south is taken up with other projects. “The west can be developed. A 300-sqkm stretch can be developed between Magadi and Tumkur roads. Downtown population should be restricted to 10 lakh. People would like to switch to such townships if basic facilities and good roads are provided,’’ say townplanners.