Choked to the brim

Choked to the brim
Residency Road is an arterial road leading up to MG Road. But a drive along this stretch is nothing short of a nightmare. Keerthana Thorat does a reality check

Bangalore: Flyovers and grade separators are constructed the world over to decongest traffic and facilitate seamless travel. But a flyover in the heart of the city has failed to do so.
The one-way stretch from Richmond Road flyover towards Residency Road has witnessed an exponential increase of vehicular movement in recent years. The one-way was introduced to ease congestion in traffic descending towards Residency Road from KH Double Road. The uni-directional flow has provided an illusion of streamlined traffic, but instead resulted in a bottle-neck.
There are varied reasons for the congestion, be it a bus-stop at the foot of the flyover or the number of schools in the vicinity. The large number of buses plying on the short stretch between Bangalore Club and Cash Pharmacy junction is an enormous hindrance to smooth flow of traffic.
Residency Road is one of the major roads leading towards MG Road and it houses Bishop Cottons Boys’ and Girls’ schools, Sacred Heart Girls School and St Joseph’s College. When the schools close in the evening, the road is choked with pickup vehicles parked on the road.
Srilakshmi, an employee in a private firm, says: “I use this road everyday to reach office. Traffic is very heavy on this road, especially in the morning, because of the schools. The vehicles parked on the roads lead to jams and slow movement of traffic.’’
Karthik, who also travels on this stretch regularly, says: “It’s a relief to use this road during the schools’ summer vacations. But the schools are not the only problem here. The narrow road simply has too many vehicles to handle.’’
Errant BMTC bus drivers too halt buses in a haphazard manner. This apart, vehicles swerving in and out of the road at multiple points is also a problem here. The flyover ramps are also in poor condition. It is not well-asphalted and the stretch is bumpy with gaping potholes.
According to traffic police officials, violation of lane discipline by motorists results in haphazard traffic movement.”We cannot deny the heavy flow of traffic but motorists also play a key role. It’s not just the vehicles that add to the chaos but lack of lane discipline among the motorists is also a contributing factor,’’ a traffic policeman says.
Though many policemen are deployed in the evenings at the junction, the situation has not stabilized. On days when the situation is out of control, barricades are put up at key locations to guide traffic in a disciplined manner. This move, although a temporary solution, has ensured better management and bifurcation of traffic.
toiblr.reporter@timesgroup.com
Residency Road handles around 20,000 PCUs per day
The flyover connecting Double Road, Mission Road, Residency Road and Richmond Road has not eased the traffic
Schools’ closing time, haphazard parking of pick-up vehicles and errant BMTC buses cause traffic clogs
No permanent solution found by traffic police; temporarily, barricades are erected to streamline traffic
The flyover is bumpy as the asphalt is wearing off
Policespeak
Ashoknagar traffic police inspector Geetha says: There are more than 20,000 vehicles plying on Residency Road every day and traffic congestion here has always been a problem. In order to ease the same, we have taken up all the possible arrangements. We have ordered the school managements to provide parking facilities to parents or guardians of students on the school premises itself. By this, the parents will not have to disembark from their cars on the road to send their children into the schools.