Bangalore has been hit by the merge blues. more than 70% of the so called Jams can be associated to merge, various types of merge. We create a merge out of left & right turns when we should wait for traffc to clear, we even create a merge in a roundabout when we should yeilding. We even create a merge at traffic lights when we should be standing in our lanes waiting for our turn.
A true merge is when traffic ramps in at an angle into main throughfares. To merge is a simple task, just like the zipper in your pants, one car goes next one blends then the other goes behind. But it requires tremendous coordination & unselfishness to do this. First the person has to allow a gap for the merging car to fit in. Next each car has to take turns merging requiring both parties to allow alternate merging. But Bangalore roads are one zipper gone awfully wrong. The traffic ends up in such a mess it takes much time to unclog.
It has become a game of how NOT to allow the person to merge by closing the gap. To complicate this human dependency there is the engineering which alows multiple lanes to merge into multiple lanes which makes the situation impossible to manage. In any lane merge, until on lane has completely merged the other lane shouldnt be allowed to merge. In fact inside the city I dont see why there are multiple lanes merges at all?
Bible society junction between MG circle & Anil Kumble circle is a prime example. In fact it went from a single lane to a no parking 3 lane merge recently. It didnt help that the issue has been handled in a ham handed fashion by an incongrous board in a corner which no one can see. Yes you wont have noticed till I told you it existed.
I have put up a solution for the junction. Next teim you use this road think about this & let me know your feedback.
Bible Society Junction Re-Engineering
Forward this Blog entry
Comments
Parking on the opposite side..
Good observations Sathya..
One thing..our ppl who dont understand merging will not understand hatching..period!
So the best thing I see is restore parking on the left..parallel parking that is..and have traffic island kind of 'directors' for the single lane traffic..like we have on st marks road(bank junction)..these will be projections from the footpath corners..one near hard rock cafe and the other on MG road as traffic merges..
Btw we know how to 'nuggu' (squeeze) only..not merge! ;)
Cant agree more !
Cant agree more ! We go with "natural" way of driving,not byrule/courtesy/unselfishness, taking cue from sheeps etc. I have seen sheeps ending with jam due to Nuggu nature. :-D Hence the need of shepherd (BTP cops)!
suggestion
The concrete hard separator after Kumble circle should have another sign board and reflector warning about the concrete. This separator should be extended further till the Levelle road left is reached. Just to make enforcement stricter.
On another note, lanes should be marked on junctions also. The lanes end at stop line on signal. Then begin again after crossing the junction. Reflectors should be used to make a dotted line to connect lanes. vehicles will find it easier to stay in line.
Image not to scale
This separator should be extended further till the Levelle road left is reached.
The road alignments in my drawing are not to scale, the seperator will be upto the junction in reality. Here is a scale image
Channelizing traffic
More hard separators?
Agree with srinidhi on the hatching. While I can see the appeal of hatching (serves additional road space when needed; breakdowns, accidents etc), I'm not sure if we're ready for hatching yet. One option might be a widening the pavement leaving a nice wide pavement all around the BSI island. Another option might be a bollard-separated unidirectional bicycle lane on the LHS of road edge; not sure how this would fit into the NMT plan though.
(pic courtesy: NMT presentation)
I also think we need to widen the scope of this junction redesign effort to include other hard medians (and appropriate signage) for:
Reflectors should be used to make a dotted line to connect lanes. vehicles will find it easier to stay in line.
Like these?
----
TM
Reflectors
Yes. Like that. From and to all 4 roads at the junction. Might create a bit of confusion at first, but colour coding can be used. Red reflectors from North to South. Yellow from East to West.
Thanks for the maps. Easy to talk about with them.
Over crowding Problems
One can understand the hardships of daily Bangalore commute. Bangalore commuters especially those using public transport can have a first hand knowledge of skills in blocking. I must admit I have also tried my hand at the particular skill, at a Tee junction in 80 ft road 12th Main HAL II stage.
One can discuss about merging only in well planned Towns, Cities and Mega Cities. Basic town planning concepts seem to have been flouted in our city of Bangalore. I strongly plead for pair of arterial roads development for the city. Those interested may have a look at my blog entry in my blog “developingbangaloreonline” [1]
Addl hard separators: Pt 2
I also think we need to widen the scope of this junction redesign effort to include other hard medians...
Like this...
---
TM