BHPian 5252rpm recently shared this with other enthusiasts:Suggestion to Ease Bangalore TrafficMy daily commute is roughly 4.5kms one side, which is covered roughly in 15-20mins by bike and 30-40min in a car during peak office hours. I am sure all of us will agree on a 100% overhaul Bangalore road infra and governance mechanism that we will need to accommodate the vehicle density – but the intention of this writeup is purely on thinking out loud on a comparatively quick solution in the interim. I am honestly not sure how quick or expensive it will be in my layman’s thinking.Here is the nutshellThe majority of slow-moving traffic is caused by “a 90-degree turn and an electric pole right at the apex of that turn”. Almost all the pocket roads in Bangalore have only 90-degree turns – they do not have a circular contour or fillet or a chamfer, which eases the time, space and effort required to negotiate that curve. Especially, for heavy vehicles like construction trucks, water tankers and school buses, it’s a daily challenge to use the entire road, block all lanes, including the footpath, to complete a turn. Now, cars are easily growing to van size, they are also going the same route. Bangalore, probably for the value of land, grid-based layout planning or easy land division or administration – this may be a conscious decision in the past for slotting plots with sharp edges. It happens everywhere but just that here we conveniently missed the road because it’s a collective headache and not of an individual. But IMO, it’s just poor urban planning which needs to be corrected, considering the situation we are in. Let me show you many such instances in my short 5km drive (all credits to Google Street View) Spot 1: 100% 90-degree turn and a pole in the middle. There will be a minimum of 2-3 water tankers, TT or a Tractor that makes a long jam here. Spot 2: Entry to ITPL main road (one with the metro line) from the pocket road. Both entry and exit are 90-degree turns. A sub 4m car would need to use to full one/one and a half lane to get onto this road. Spot 3: Alternate entry to ITPL main road (one with metro line) from pocket road. This entry is fairly easy because the road is properly curved. The entry to the pocket road is a terrible 90-degree turn with again electric pole in between. Spot 4: Entry to ITPL/ITPB tech park (marked in red). Roughly 55,000 employees work here. You can guesstimate the number of cars that go in and out. Another 90-degree turn that slows down the entry to the ITPL – exit seems somewhat okay. Spot 5: Entry from ITPL main road that goes to the back gate of ITPL, ITPB etc. This road also connects to Borewell Road. Another perfect 90-degree entry and exit. On top of it, recently a temple (marked in red) was also established in that exact corner, making any future modifications difficult. Spot 6: Turn near Big Bazar bus stop. This has some curve in the turn but still a 90-degree one. While taking that curve, Tada! – You also have a tree to look for. Never understood the logic of leaving this one tree in the middle of that road – mind you, this area is notorious for bottlenecks in peak hours. Spot 7: Entry from Big Bazar to ITPL main road. The one marked in red is a 90-degree turn, making another jam, while the yellow remains a little sorted. There are many such spots (like entry to Whitefield Manipal Hospital, Aster Hospital) which are again in the same shape. Minimum of 10-12 quick-fix scopes are available in my 9km round commute. This does not demand widening the major roads or large land acquisitions. This does not even demand to fix the wrong side drivers, illegal street vendors, illegal parking, police deployment at major intersections etc – ask is just smooth the curves, PLEASE! We can probably start from here? Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.
