Dangerous underpasses worry drivers

Dangerous underpasses worry drivers
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bangalore: While vehicles have gobbled up every inch of road space and commute time, pedestrians have been given their strips of safety in the form of underpasses. But most often than not, underpasses form the dark underbellies of the projects overhead. Dimly lit and sometimes locked, they are a major worry for citizens.
Good lighting was one of the suggestions that came up during a workshop on ‘Mobility indicator, parking policy and pedestrian policy’ held in the city on Saturday. BMRCL MD Shiv Sailam interacted with the public, and heard their concerns and views.
“Any signal-free road project should also have suitable plans for pedestrians,” said Divya, in her 20s. She brought to notice the deplorable condition of Sheshadri Road underpass, which has no proper lighting, and is unsafe for children and women. She also suggested that skywalks might be a good solution, but are not suitable at market places.
Raising questions over the use of public transport, an elderly person who introduced himself as ‘pedestrian’, said, “People use their private vehicles for some reason. I suggest that BMTC officials use public transport themselves so they can understand the problems faced by the public.”
Rakesh showed concern over the cutting down of trees for widening roads and even sidewalks. “Pedestrians need shade. Cutting down trees will add to their inconvenience.”
OBJECTIVES OF THE WORKSHOP
The Parking and Pedestrian Policy was the main attraction of the workshop. Gopi Prasad of Ides Consulting made the presentation and gave an insight into the problems and solutions. He cited the growing number of vehicles as the major area of concern and also suggested ‘regulation of old vehicles’ to decrease parking load.
Metro pile work on Reach 1 ready: The Metro Rail project has completed a major chunk of work. All pile work on via duct are completed at Reach 1, according to Metro officials. This means Reach 1 is going as planned.
Metro officials also confirmed that pile caps will be completed by September-end and pier caps by October-end this year.