The signs are everywhere

The signs are everywhere


Raghavendra RFirst Published : 14 May 2009 07:46:39 AM IST
BANGALORE: They are everywhere.
Look left, or right (if you follow traffic rules, that is) and the B-TRAC signboards stare you in the face as if to indicate that something big is coming soon. We know one thing for sure, whether or not the projects actually gets implemented on time, the Karnataka Road Development Corporation Limited (KRDCL) has indeed rushed ahead and installed all the signboards on time. Sadly however, even that they have got wrong. While in some signposts only the B-TRAC logo sits pretty, with the 3M reflective indicator missing, in other places we see even the logo has started to peel off.
The dynamics The B-TRAC 2010 project, an initiative of Bangalore City Traffic Police (BCTP) that is spread over five years from 2006-07 to 2010-11 at a total cost of Rs 350 crore to upgrade the traffic management, is being implemented by the Government- owned KRDCL.
The economics BCTP sources said that each 3M reflective roadside signboards costs around Rs 3,000 and the contractor is supposed to maintain them for three years.
According to the Traffic Engineering Expert Professor MN Sreehari, the installation of signboards requires scientific study and the authorities concerned should go to the spot and inspect the roads where the signboards are genuinely required. “The irony is that the installation of reflective B-TRAC roadside signboards has no meaning. It has been unscientifically and unnecessarily placed all over the city one after the other,” he added.
Sreehari lamented that neither the BCTP nor the implementing agency KRDCL have worked out the feasibility issues before putting up the signboards. “There is no need of duplication of any signboards. It’s a sheer waste of public money,” he opined.
The expert also said that the BEL, which has been awarded the contract of manufacturing and installation of signboards and also thermo plastic paint, does not have either a traffic engineer or expertise in the field.
Everything fades away Sources in the Traffic Engineering Cell of Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) said that thermo plastic paint used for marking on the roads by KRDCL is of poor quality and fades out very soon. “The marking thickness should be 2.5 mm,” the source added. He said that once the marking is done, the thermo plastic paint should last for a minimum of six months on newly asphalted roads and two years on old roads.
Defending signs Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic & Security) Praveen Sood said that 3M reflective B-TRAC roadside signboards are of standardised design as per the Indian Road Congress and BBMP manual of road signages prepared by the Bangalore Agenda Task Force.
Sood said that 20,000 new roadside signboards have been installed across the city replacing the old ones and 90 per cent of the installation work is completed.
“Around 15,000 old sponsored signboards have been removed and the remaining 10 per cent will be removed shortly. As per the notification, the new signboards have been installed on roads that have been identified for effective enforcement,” he added.