‘Make Bangalore a walking city’

‘Make Bangalore a walking city’
Mohandas Pai, head HR, of an IT firm, lists the need of the hour to unlock Bangalore


TO unlock Bangalore, we need a multipronged effort and must consider the following: 1) Improve existing roads and the speed of travel in the city. Synchronise traffic signals to ensure travel time is cut. 2) Improve the BMRTC system with better buses and better comfort for drivers. Make sure they stop at the bus stop. Improve the schedules and routes. 3) Make Bangalore a walking city, with 2.5 metre wide pavements. Have concrete footpaths instead of stone slabs. Keep footpaths clear of vendors or signs or muck. Level the footpaths in front of buildings. Where footpaths meet roads, create a slope so that there are no sudden drops. 4) Create ring roads. Completing the Nandi Road will improve traffic by over 50 per cent around South Bangalore and the outer ring road. Create an inner ring road without cross roads. The outer ring road should be made a throughfare to improve speed of travel. Create a road on stilts on the drains that crisscross Bangalore as in Bangkok to create more roads. 5) Prohibit slow-moving traffic within the city. Heavy vehicles should be banned between 7 am and 10 pm. 6) Staggering timings for schools and colleges and office-goers. 7) Create residences near Electronic City, Whitefield and Peenya. This will prevent more people coming from the city. Allot land for schools to come up around these places. 8) Move the government out of Bangalore to make Hubli Dharwad the new capital. This will benefit Karnataka as North Karnataka will develop with airports, hospitals, employment and infrastructure. This will also decongest Bangalore and reduce the floating population.
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