2009
16
This is something that I noticed recently. Well, I see it almost everyday, but not really realize that there is absolutely no place to walk on the road in Bangalore. Barring the major star attractions like MG road, Brigade Road, Cubbon Road, and some others, 90% of the roads have little or no place for the pedestrian. If there is enough space.. it has been occupied by various other departments who have happily installed large, small, medium sized boxes to encroach on it.
The results are as expected. Most people walk on the road, probably thats why.. even when there is a perfectly Ok footpath available, people prefer to walk on the road. Needless to say, there is always this nagging danger of falling into a ‘Hole’, open drain, garbage dump etc.
Having a proper footpath can actually help decongest this city.
For example: Banerugutta Road
From the beginning of the road near Ayappa Garden till about Dairy Circle, there is no consistent footpath on either side of the road. Coupled with the fact that the road varies in width (which we will get to later), it becomes a tricky situation for anyone to actually walk anywhere.
From Dairy Circle till Jayadeva Hospital, the road is fairly consistent with some sort of walking space available on each side. But, these are mostly utilized for parking, having shop decors, hoardings, electrical installs etc. The road still varies in width which is annoying. At some places the road extends beyond trees that are right on the road (a phenomenon also noticed on Koramangala Ring Road).
From Jayadeva Hopital till IIMB the road sees many avatars. The part next to shopper stop is very well finished with proper footpaths on both sides and even a service road on one side. The road again becomes narrow right after this till the beginning of IIM campus, it gets extra wide from here on till HSBC and then gets extra narrow till you pass Arekere gate. The road is fairly consistent here after.
Why the ‘Mayhem’
A s a result of this size, width, footpath, no-path mayhem, the road sees a regular chaos.
Traffic is like fluid flow. Most developed and developing nations have understood this long back. It works in the same manner as liquids or gas (not the bad food one). Its that one bottleneck that controls the flow and not the rest of the road, that’s basically a Tap. You open the Tap fully and you will still get as much water as the Pipe carrying it would allow.
Similarly, having wider roads in sections of 500 meters to 1 Km do not serve any purpose. Vehicles just speed up only to get stuck where the narrow section begins. It is actually preferable to have a consistent width road for better and more efficient way of transit.
Following this simple logic one can pinpoint where all the traffic will accumulate.
Ideal road Cross Section for wider sections of the road. Maintain footpath and use available 3rd lane for parking. This would encourage people to park at a distance instead of right at the doorstep.
Suggestion.
- Have footpaths so that people can park / get down from a bus at a distance and enjoy the walk.
- Have a more or less consistent road width, it helps maintain a consistent traffic flow. A two plus two lane is ideal.
- Use extra width wherever available for specified parking and busbays.
- Provide the option for parking, before putting a No-Parking sign.
- Provide legitimate and safe options for people to cross roads.
May help.