Southern States - Karnataka-Bangalore   

More facilities, discipline can ease congestion

By K.Satyamurty

Bangalore Aug. 4. The Action Plan for Bangalore Traffic prepared by the City traffic police and the Transport Advisory Forum has components going beyond flyovers and underpasses.

The work already taken up involves reorienting the traffic pattern through alteration to traffic lanes, islands, and kerbs, one-way regulations on certain roads, restriction of turns (such as "no free left turn"), relocation of bus stops, control on loading and unloading from commercial vehicles and more regulated parking.

The traffic improvement measures include wider intersections, synchronised signal lights, signal lights for pedestrians to cross roads safely, and provision of bus bays and bus lanes.

The Technical Advisor and Chairman of Transport Advisory Forum, N.S.Srinivasan, points out lack of bus bays of adequate capacity on important roads. Enabling the BMTC buses stop for passengers without disrupting other vehicles will help better traffic flow.

Having dedicated bus bays and bus lanes has an environmental consideration. BMTC bus drivers can avoid unnecessary stops, uneven speeds, sudden braking, idling of vehicles, and indiscriminate use of horns. These will help in reducing air and noise pollution.

The project report related to the action plan notes that the efficiency of traffic flow and capacity of the road network in the City depend on, among other factors, special radial corridors. Such corridors require modern traffic engineering techniques such as lane system, improvement of geo-metrics (as in the case of traffic islands), facilities for buses and commuters, safer conditions for pedestrians, better traffic signals, access control, and traffic management measures for adjoining areas.

The list of traffic corridors to be improved include: Trinity Church Circle to Airport entrance on Airport Road; Dairy Circle to Ring Road junction on Hosur Road; Minerva Circle to South End Road on R.V.Road; Kanakapura Road to Sarjapur junction on South End Road; Sheesh Mahal junction to Outer Ring Road on Kanakapura and K.R.Roads; Alur Venkat Rao Road junction to Ramakrishna Ashram junction on Bull Temple Road; Leprosy Hospital Junction to city border on Magadi Road; Prasanna cinema junction to Government Soap Factory junction on Dr. Rajkumar Road; Yeshwantpur Circle to Hesaraghatta Cross Road on Tumkur Road; Cantonment under-bridge to War Memorial junction on St. John's Church Road and Trinity Circle to K.R.Puram on Old Madras Road.

A proposal, which has been welcomed by the traffic and other wings of the city police, is to install closed circuit television control at 17 busy intersections. Such a system will help monitor and regulate traffic from a central control room, operate traffic signals on specific occasion such as VIP visits, register violations, and warn the violators. The other wings of the police welcome the move as it will help identify vehicles used to commit crime.

(concluded)

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