BBMP is currently building a parking lot at the entrance of the road to Doddakallasandra, to make it easy for passengers to access Konanakunte Cross Metro station nearby.
But this road – Thippasandra/Doddakallasandra fork road off of Kanakapura main road – is an alternative for residents to avoid the dense traffic on Kanakapura road. It’s a thoroughfare linking Kanakapura road to Prestige Falcon City apartments (2500 units), Wilasa (150 villas), Munireddy Layout, Kumaran Children’s Home, Doddakallasandra, and further to Anjanapura Double Road.
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The parking lot would be adjacent to the compound wall of Prestige Forum Next HyperMart along the road. Khodays Breweries has surrendered a triangular patch of land here, so that BBMP can widen the road in front of the HyperMart and build the parking lot there.
The triangular pocket of land, lying between the roadside drain and the compound wall of the HyperMart, would be about 10,000 sq ft. The road could have been widened at this critical junction, utilising the triangular patch of land, which would reduce accident risks to pedestrians and motorists.
Or, the land could have been developed as a green patch, possibly a mini forest, to break the monotony of the concrete jungle this area is. It could even compensate for the trees butchered by Namma Metro. It is not known where the substitute saplings for the trees cut have been planted. Now, yet another paved concrete surface is being created.
This junction is already a traffic chokepoint, and building a parking lot here would compound the problem. Especially once the HyperMart opens next April.
However, work on the parking lot continues at great speed. When this space becomes operational, the junction will become a severe traffic bottleneck and accident zone.
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Has BBMP obtained the views of traffic police?
BMRCL (Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Ltd) says they are trying to solve the parking deficiency issue at Konanakunte Cross Metro station. But the agency is instead creating a bigger traffic problem.
It is not hard to imagine the chaos once the parking space becomes operational and the contractor’s personnel along with vendors and food carts occupy the footpaths. Road users will be at the mercy of motorists.
However, there is an alternative solution to the parking problem that the BMRCL has not thought of. There is a dilapidated, unused factory building on the western side of the station, which BMRCL can lease. BMRCL has to invest in land to create passenger facilities. It cannot usurp public land and earn profits commercially in the garb of passenger welfare.
The proposed parking area is part of the road improvement work undertaken by BBMP from KP Road junction to Doddakallasandra village. According to the BBMP contractor, the triangular patch of land was being developed as a parking space for Metro travellers.
But is the land in question owned by BMRCL? If not, BMRCL should pay and acquire the land and create a parking space. It cannot usurp public land and lease it out to private parking contractors. BMRCL, however, has done just this at Jayanagar Rose Gardens and National College stations, converting parks into parking in the name of providing convenience to Metro travellers.
How can BMRCL encroach upon BBMP land, and how can BBMP, in turn, be a party to this?
Residents of nearby localities strongly feel that this parking space plan needs to be revisited and the concrete pavement be undone to create a public park.
This will definitely increase traffic woes, can already see street vendors occupying half of the street, it’s a big nuisance to go to Narayana nagar from this road which is the main access road to reach. Traffic police, please take appropriate steps to ensure smooth traffic at this juncture, already they were 3 casualties at this juncture.
I Stay in naryana nagar 3rd block, I will have to use the same for my daily commute. This place is already a dangerous accident point. It will become even more dangerous, once the mall starts functioning there will be a lot of vehicular movement in this road and on top of that street vendors will also occupy some part of road and finally, this road will become too narrow for vehicular movement. It will create a lot of chos for traffic. I totally appose the plan of making it a parking lot. It would be good if that place is converted into some kind of green patch.