Commute

One of the small, but intensely annoying practices that I am increasingly finding is that of security guards in front of large office/commercial buildings, obviously acting on instructions, to "reserve" the parking space in front of the buildings for those who are visiting an office in that building, and to prevent others from parking there.   In fact, Corporation Bank in J P Nagar  3rd Phase (1st Main, along the Mini Forest) also went to the extent of putting up cardboard notices on the chain-link fence saying that the space was for their customers. Saner counsels have prevailed and the notices…

  Though it is illegal to have licence number plates only in Kannada (or any regional language), people routinely flout this rule, and cite their love for Kannada as a reason to have number plates in Kannada alone. It would be more credible if they had number plates in both Kannada and English; with only Kannada numerals, the doubt arises that it is being done to prevent anyone taking down the number in case of an accident!

Adventure: Taking the photo of a friend while cycling! Pic: Shree D N “As I was drinking my cup of coffee in the morning, had the pleasant surprise of seeing kids and one or two adults cycling on 13th cross. Learnt about the event now!”, posts Latha Vidyaranya, a resident of 13th cross, Malleshwaram, on Facebook. She was not the only one to be surprised. Even as half the population in Malleshwaram was huddled in their cozy blankets on the cold Sunday morning of December 7th, the ringing of cycle bells—a rather rare phenomena these days in this vicinity—woke them…

State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) has recommended environmental clearance for the first phase of the Bangalore Development Authority’s much-awaited Peripheral Ring Road project that will run from Tumkur Road to Hosur Road. Did you like this article? Help us publish more such articles. Support Oorvani Foundation! With this, the options that can help commuters avoid the city centre will increase, while real estate rates around the Peripheral Ring Road are expected to rise higher. This is meant to destress the Outer Ring Road, even as Bengaluru has been expanding without limits. BDA's Peripheral Ring Road will connect Tumkur Road…

The Prime Minister’s recent call for a clean India notwithstanding, the authorities are content dumping truckloads of rubble right in the middle of the city as a “solution” of sorts. In fact, this has been going on for almost at least two years and it is startling that this has gone on for such a long time. At Hosur road, coming from Bommanahalli, as you walk below the Silk Board flyover, you can notice mountains of rubble under the flyover – this, a solution to discourage the vehicles to go on the other side of Hosur road. There’s a No-Entry…

Bengaluru’s industrial and IT hub Whitefield is always jam-packed these days, with inordinate delays for people on road. Looks like this will change for better, as citizens are working with the government to evolve a sustainable traffic plan that will help ease the traffic problems. This is important, as Metro construction work will start soon in Whitefield and some areas will suffer from traffic. The new plan for Whitefield designed and implemented by Bangalore Traffic Police (BTP) aims to decongest the traffic pain-points in Whitefield area. Monday saw the implementation of the new plan. However, the roads remained congested on…

Think Yeshwanthpur, Think connectivity,' stated a news report in The Hindu, a few years ago. The once distant suburb of Yeshwanthpur now has a Tertiary Traffic Management Centre (TTMC), Metro connectivity and South Western Railways’ (SWR) second coaching terminal. But is all hunky dory as far as connectivity and transport issues at Yeshwanthpur are concerned? While the traffic comes to a grinding halt under the flyover after Mysore Lamps near Yeshwanthpur, the flyover has little traffic, even during peak hours. Pic: Rajshekhar Work on much-needed foot overbridge yet to start The Yeshwanthpur railway station is a mere 200 metres away…

A few years ago, when the Bangalore Metro began its work, several roads were either closed or their width was reduced due to the work. And some of those roads still remain closed or under repair. Somehow, the traffic continues to meander and find its way through other roads. In fact, traffic like water will always find its way; so the question which I ask is, ‘Can we permanently close some of these roads and put these spaces to alternate uses’?' This occurred to me the other day while crossing Chinnaswamy Stadium towards Raj Bhavan when I saw a set…

Editor's note: A press note from Bengaluru Bus Prayanikara Vedike (BBPV) informs that a unique bus festival, Janasnehi Bussigagi, is being organised across November and December 2014. Here are edited excerpts from the press note.  A large population of the city, more than 50 lakh people, travels by BMTC for their daily needs. These include women, senior citizens, school and college going children and youth, people with special needs, migrant workers, transgenders and many other urban communities. Many of these groups use buses regularly and yet experience safety, access and affordability issues. 'Janasnehi Bussigagi—towards people friendly buses' Towards making BMTC a more…

This is the beeline of vehicles on Varthur Main Road near Kundalahalli Gate. Trains have the capacity to take some part of this traffic off the road. Pic: Shree D N Vaidyanathan Narayanan works in a company in Whitefield. He takes the 9.05 am Namma Metro service from Ulsoor and reaches Byappanahalli Metro station at 9.14 am. Then he quickly moves towards the Baiyappanahalli Railway Station via the newly built footbridge, and reaches the station at 9.17 am. He waits for the Arakkonam train that comes in between 9.20 am to 9.30 am. He reaches the informal train stop behind…