Commute

BMRCL Managing Director Pradeep Kharola has responded to the concerns of citizens on predicted traffic problems on Bannerghatta Road in Bengaluru once the Phase-II work takes off, by promising to look into the issues listed by them. Urban mobility expert Ashwin Mahesh, along with a group of residents, had listed out the pain points on Bannerghatta Road that need to be resolved before the commencement of Phase-II Metro work. Here is the list of the bottlenecks to be solved, listed by the residents. a) During construction, it would be extremely helpful if the foot-overpasses of the stations can be constructed…

With the Namma Railu project to connect Bengaluru to the surrounding towns moving forward, there is talk of 'land value capture' to finance it. I.e, can we find the money for this project (and others like it) by either giving additional FSI at a price to land-owners in the area, or by higher property taxes after the completion of the project? This is a standard financing technique that is used by many countries. But in Bangalore we have a dubious record on this front. We have arbitrarily increased FSI in some areas (e.g. near Metro stations) in violation of the…

Dear all,    After doing a series of pedestrian events called "Come, Cross the Road" to observe and highlight the issues faced by pedestrians on Bangalore roads, Hasiru Usiru is  now ready to release the final draft of the report with our findings and observations.   As part of this event, we would like to showcase photographs emphasising the different problems faced by pedestrians on a daily basis. The problems could be any of the below or ANYTHING you perceive to be a problem for pedestrians in the city.    Difficulty in crossing the roads Bad footpaths Dimly lit subways,…

Annually, many countries observe International Car Free Day on 22nd September to encourage people to leave their cars or reduce their use. Since 2011, ESAF, a city based non-profit that works on making Bangalore more inclusive, has been reminding Bangaloreans to lower or eliminate dependence on cars. As per Senior Programme Officer Manju George, the campaign which started on September 21st this year, will last until the 30th. This is being done through flyers, posters and discussions in offices, residential neighbourhoods, street corners, eateries, stores, colleges, et al. The message is to consider walking, cycling, taking public transport or at…

Have you ever travelled from Dr Rajkumar Road underpass via Okalipuram to reach City Central Railway station in Bangalore? If you have, you will agree that it takes nothing less than 45 minutes to one hour to cross the 1.5 kms road. You have to beat heavy traffic jams on the uphill road burning precious fuel, avoid jaywalking people, vehicles criss-crossing at intersections, potholed roads and the heavy traffic load on the road. The long-awaited project of creating an underpass, rail over-bridge at the two Okalipuram railway tracks and the 8-lane corridor is proposed to take off in December 2013.…

With the increasing time you spend at traffic signals in Bengaluru, you only think about one government department — Traffic Department. You may hail them or curse them, but they are on their toes to help the city de-congest. Though the department is approached for approval of all infrastructure projects, there is no authority to it. Limited roads, which are always in a bad state are the biggest hurdle the department faces while struggling to keep the city traffic smooth. Bangalore's Additional Commissioner of Traffic Police, IPS offcer, B Dayananda Pic: Nikita Malusare Additional Commissioner of Traffic Police B Dayananda,…

Last May, the common Bangalorean voted for a change in the hope that this would be a change for the better. Basic needs such as commutable roads and better civic amenities are turning into luxuries for people living in Bangalore. Even after four months, the new administration is unable to make any real progress. Nothing has changed. While we painfully negotiate and move from gutter to gutter, all the while suffering bumpy rides, life-size posters of political leaders smile at us, ridiculing our plight. Previously, the poster boys were all from the rank and file of the BJP. Now it’s…

A resident from one of the 80 apartments in the Sobha apartments neighbourhood/Green Glen Layout posed an open challenge last week, daring people to walk down the main access road grandly named Palm Avenue, without getting one's feet/trousers dirty. The terrible roads of Green Glen Layout. Pic: Thomas V. Another resident took it further capturing the state of the road in a video clip, shooting as he drove through the area, with the camera positioned at road level.  It may not be very different from hundreds of other roads in the city, but that doesn't decrease the pain that thousands…

A few days back BMTC Volvo crew went on a flash strike, inconveniencing thousands of commuters, against a new rule scrapping overtime when they fail to meet a target for the number of trips per day. They cited bad traffic and road conditions for not being able to meet those targets consistently. When we look at it from a more sympathetic perspective, BMTC crew and Traffic police personnel do bear most of the brunt from fast-crumbling roads and the rains which have added an all new dimension to an already overcrowded, grid-locked city. Given these conditions and the need to…

This is an attempt to share information about roads. Lot of information is also available in the internet, so I have taken care not to repeat the same. So, how is a road different from regular soil surface, and why so? Let’s take regular surface; the playground. It is fine to play when there is no rain. We can even go cycling or ride a motorbike. However, when it rains, it becomes soft and slushy. Cycle wheel or feet go deeper into the soil. In such cases, what do we do? We place a big stone and step over it.…