Pedestrians at crossroads

Pedestrians at crossroads

Are motorists the only species that matters on the city’s roads? Pedestrians have never had it so bad in namma Bengaluru, as our team found out while negotiating major junctions

Sithara Sethumadhavan, Juby Thomas & Smitha Samuel
Posted On Monday, November 10, 2008

Hosur Road
If you think driving on the city’s roads is a pain in the neck, try getting into a pedestrian’s shoes to experience true agony.

Motorists may fume when caught in a traffic gridlock, but once the jam dissipates, so does their foul mood as they step on the gas. But the seemingly simple act of crossing the road at busy junctions has mutated in today’s Bangalore into a Herculean task, and a life-threatening one at that. Even if you are hand-held by an obliging traffic cop, don’t expect anything remotely resembling a quick crossing.

A Bangalore Mirror team found out just that when it was stuck for anything between 15 and 25 minutes at key junctions across the city.

JUNCTION 1
Hosur Road (Tech Mahindra to Christ University)
Time taken: 21 minutes (9.09 am-9.30 am)
This stretch of Hosur Road has vehicles joining in from the flyover as well as from the Dairy circle, with many motorists heading towards Electronics City and Sarjapur. Traffic starts as early as 8 am. It took us 21 minutes to cross over to the college. Everyday, hundreds of students reach the place early just to cross the road, as the bus stop and the college are on opposite sides.

“I get down from the bus at 8.30 am and by the time I reach the other end, it is 9 am. It is scary to cross the road. The cars and bikes just speed across. At times, I gesture to vehicles to stop while I try to cross, but there are some motorists who don’t care for pedestrians. If there are daring boys, we form a human chain and cross. Motorists don’t dare act rashly when there are so many of us,” said Anisha K, a student. There is a traffic policeman around who helps pedestrians cross over, but quite often he seems to be caught up in the middle of the traffic himself!

JUNCTION 2
Bannerghatta Road (From Employment Training Centre to Oracle and Accenture)
Time taken: 25 minutes (9.45 am - 10.10 am)
Bannerghatta Road is notorious for accidents involving pedestrians. The traffic here moves towards JP Nagar, BTM Layout and Bannerghatta. This part of the road is crowded with vehicles at all times of the day. It took us 25 minutes to cross over, and we found our ordeal was shared by scores of techies too. The scorching sun and dust-laden wind made us even more miserable.

“I get the jitters every morning thinking of crossing over to the other side. Motorists should be considerate and allow pedestrians to cross. They just speed on. I wish we had some pedestrian-controlled signals out here, like the ones they have in foreign countries,” said Jaya M, an employee of Oracle. “Last week, we had finished shopping at SPAR and wanted to eat at the hotel across. It was mind-wracking to get there. Bikes and cars just zoom by. I think all our hunger died by the time we reached there,” Elsa Mathew, a techie, said.

Tin Factory, K R Puram
JUNCTION 3
Old Madras Road (Tin Factory, K R Puram)
Time taken: 28 minutes (11.32 am - 12.00 pm)
Only God can save pedestrians here. With no proper pedestrian paths and heavy traffic, this road is an absolute nightmare. We took a whole 28 minutes to ‘conquer’ it! The road is not only a gateway for traffic on the Tirupati-Chennai road but is also a part of the Ring Road used by heavy trucks. The road also leads to ITPL, home to numerous tech companies.

“Guess traffic jams are the worst over here. You need to look around and find a traffic cop to help. I have to cross the road to board the bus and it is a battle for me every single day. I am scared to let my mother cross this road. I wish the government has something good in store for us,” said Deepa M, a student. Fathima, a home maker, complained, “At night, it is much more difficult. There is no proper street lighting. How do I cross to catch a bus? Many heavy trailer trucks and other heavy vehicles take this route. It’s high time something was done to help pedestrians.”

JUNCTION 4
Town Hall
Time Taken: 27 minutes
(1 pm to 1.27 pm)
The roads converging at this junction have literally been taken over by vehicles. There is absolutely no space for pedestrians. Leave alone crossing, just trying to walk along the sides is hazardous. It was a 27-minute struggle on our part to cross over. Though the JC Road and Corporation signals allow a few seconds for pedestrians, motorists invariably jump the gun, depriving pedestrians of even this little privilege.”It’s terrible — don’t ask me more,” was the exasperated response of a pedestrian to our query.

The pecking order!
Traffic expert M N Sreehari has no doubt in his mind that Bangalore has turned into a palpably pedestrian-unfriendly city. “The government has given more importance to road construction and speed rather than pedestrians. Pedestrians have been sidelined and ignored, instead of their safety being catered to with subways, footpaths and proper lighting. Even where footpaths exist, they are crowded with hawkers and their carts. Moreover, it’s a not so well-known fact that 38 per cent of people killed on the roads are pedestrians,” he said.

Additional Commissioner of Police (traffic) Praveen Sood voiced similar sentiments. “City roads are hardly pedestrian-friendly. As policemen, we can only enforce the law and fine speeding motorists or those who encroach on to zebra crossings. Vehicle users should understand that pedestrians are not second-class citizens. The civic agencies need to put up skywalks at important junctions. I also suggest that pedestrians cross roads only at zebra crossings,” he said.
Sithara Sethumadhavan, Juby Thomas & Smitha Samuel