For anyone who has to cross the Iblur Junction on foot — the critical intersection connecting Sarjapur Road and Outer Ring Road, the heart of Bengaluru’s bustling IT corridor, to the rest of the city — the experience is unforgettable. And certainly not for the right reasons. Iblur is currently infamous not just for traffic congestion, but also the risks and challenges it poses for pedestrians frequenting the area.
On Saturday, October 5 2024, Oorvani Foundation, as part of its Civic Learning Hub organised a workshop titled “Urban Street Design: Fixing Iblur Junction” in the neighbourhood. Organised in collaboration with WRI and Socratus, the event brought together urban planners, community members, and experts to explore practical solutions to improve this notorious junction.
The workshop was designed to provide participants with an immersive experience in urban street design. The goals of the session were clear:
- To deconstruct the factors that make roads and intersections unsafe
- To explore best practices for improving traffic flow and pedestrian safety
Participants were encouraged to engage deeply with urban design concepts and work collaboratively to develop solutions backed by data and on-ground observations.
This workshop approached junction design in a holistic, human-centric manner, focusing on identifying action items to make our streets safe, inclusive and resilient. Students, designers and concerned citizens were taught how to employ design elements in a data and observation-backed manner with low cost street design elements, such as bollards, pedestrian refuge and crossings, signage etc.
These elements are based on urban design principles; they can be used to solve or mitigate issues observed on the ground, to ultimately create both short-term and long-term proposals to improve the pedestrian experience for all users at the junction.
Issues at Iblur Junction
Participants of the workshop observed several road safety hazards including a lack of painted pedestrian crossings, inaccessible refuge islands and lack of median refuges, speeding vehicles, lack of road markings and signages, insufficient signal timing for pedestrian crossing, inadequate and uneven footpaths, lack of universal accessibility, inefficient use of existing carriageway, inappropriate location of bus stops etc.
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Suggested interventions at Iblur Junction
Pedestrian Crossings: Clear and visible pedestrian crossings help minimise conflict points by providing a designated and safe space for pedestrians to cross and reduce their exposure to oncoming motorists.
Median Extensions & Refuge Areas: Pedestrian refuge spaces are secure areas in the middle of the carriageway for pedestrians to halt before crossing long distances.
High-Raised Pedestrian Crossings: HRPCs enhance pedestrian visibility, act as speed humps and as visual cues for drivers to slow down.
Speed Calming: Speed Humps & Rumble Strips: Speed calming measures are designed to reduce vehicle speeds, thereby decreasing conflicts and the risk of crashes.
Road Markings & Signages: Road markings and signages are vital elements that shape road user behaviour, providing crucial warnings, guidance and information.
In addition to the above, the following interventions were also suggested
- Location of the existing bus stops to be assessed and bus stops to be shifted away from the junction
- Vehicular access to Manipal Hospital to be reexamined
- Ramps are to be added wherever required to ensure universal accessibility
- Current signal phases be reexamined and the timing of the pedestrian crossing phase increased
- The size of the junction to be reduced (compacted) to allow ease of access for pedestrians
The suggested interventions can be executed in the short term with minimum intervention and maximum impact.