I wish to
make a disclosure first. I have a car and stay in North Bengaluru. I also take
responsibility for being one of several people who voted the current state
government in Karnataka to power. I travel daily to the Whitefield area in an
office provided bus and the 25 km journey typically takes around 1.5 hours each
direction! Whenever I have to go towards the city, just like anywhere else, I
have to budget for the extra time that it takes to traverse through the
traffic. I am in a way, a beneficiary of the controversial steel flyover that
is meant to connect one of the crucial junctions in the north to the heart of
the city. However, I am still against the construction of this steel flyover.
Why? For a detailed technical analyses of why the flyover, to be built at an
astronomical cost, would not do much to help curb the traffic problem, the
reader can refer to other articles (like this, this, this, this, this and this). What I am going
to provide is an analysis based on pure gut feeling and what I see around me so
that the reader gets an idea on why there is such opposition from all quarters
to this project in the city.
·
The stretch that I take regularly has the hanging
bridge at K R Puram (commonly known as Tin Factory), one of the most notorious
traffic bottlenecks in the city. Why do you need a hanging bridge just to cross
a railway track ? In any case, the main issue with the hanging bridge at K R
Puram is that there are 3 lanes from the Outer Ring Road (ORR) and 3 lanes from the Old Madras Road (OMR) that
merge into 2 lanes towards Kolar and 2 lanes that continue the ORR with a split
towards Whitefield. This merger and mixing of traffic creates a bottleneck that
one has to only experience to understand.
·
Earlier, it was only the K R Puram junction that was
the problem. But now, after the construction of Brigade Metropolis and Pheonix
Market City and other large buildings on Whitefield Road, the entire stretch is
congested. The additional high rise buildings have clearly added to the traffic.
With more buildings under construction, this is only going to get worse.
·
The troubles at Silk Board junction is very well told.
However, it must be noted that there is an elevated corridor towards
Electronics City, and while it benefits those who can pay the toll, the added
burden at silk board almost erodes the time gained. How I wish a metro was
constructed at that time.
·
The flyover at Hebbal, which was an excellent one when
built, is turning out to be insufficient now. I don't blame the engineers then
as they did not anticipate the construction of the airport at that time. But
today, we all know how busy the airport is, and is well into building a new
terminal and runway. Also, with more high rises coming near Hebbal and all the
way upto Yelahanka, I only see the number of vehicles going up to unsustainable
levels. The planners of today are completely aware of this and cannot be
excused for coming up with a short-sighted solution.
·
The Hebbal flyover wasn't such a pain in the first few
months after the elevated corridor towards the airport was opened. It is only
afterwards, as the traffic increased that the congestion at Hebbal has become
severe. It is again the same story of 3 lanes and 2 lanes merging into 3 lanes
that is causing all the trouble. I seriously worry that adding three additional
lanes from the steel flyover is only going to make matters worse.
·
I also worry about the unfortunate ones who will not
end up taking the proposed flyover. The existing road is already a signal-free
corridor and the current underpasses at CBI junction, Ganganagar are likely to
be demolished. While they are claustrophobic, they at least work. Demolition of
these implies reintroduction of signals, and is likely to worsen the situation.
In summary,
I simply don't see this steel flyover to help solve the traffic problem in the
city. The only way the proposed flyover would meet the requirements is when all
further development in the north is stopped (including expanding the airport)
and we get loads of money magically to spend on it while balancing the
environmental impact. This is not going to happen, so what's the way out? My
vote is for a Metro Rail or a Mono rail on this stretch. Just looking at the
sheer number of buses that ply on this stretch, between Hebbal and the CBD
should convince one of the underlying demand for mass transit in this area. I am fine with leaving the car and using mass transit.
