Naveen's blog

BIAL - The Absence of Design Feature/s

12 June 2008 - 6:51pm — Naveen

BIAL has been negatively criticized as "Shopping Mall", "Factory-Shed" or "Warehouse" from many quarters.

The leading airports across the world such as Changi-Singapore, Lantau or Kaitak-Hongkong, Schipol-Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Heathrow-London, Dubai & the newer Swarnabhumi-Bangkok all include some design feature/s that leave a lasting impression on users.

TTMCs - Will They Solve Problems ?

10 June 2008 - 11:18pm — Naveen

This is a continuation of discussion started by thebangalorean ('bus stops to have shopping malls'). Here is what the CTTP report states about development of Traffic & Transportation Mgmnt Centers, or TTMCs (Shantinagar TTMC pic courtesy rednivaram):

"TTMC’s are planned to have multi-level parking lot, public utilities like mini-shopping centres and food courts. These centers in addition to providing park & ride facilities are also proposed to act as hubs for Mini–Buses planned by BMTC to transport the commuters from every major residential area to the nearest TTMC, so that commuters can board a bus of their choice.

BBMP Works - 2008-2009

9 June 2008 - 8:24pm — Naveen

BBMP's Plans for 2008-2009 :

Programme Of Works 2008-2009.pdf

Delhi BRT - Lessons for Bangalore ?

8 June 2008 - 10:08am — Naveen

It's one of the most controversial infrastructure projects in the country but for all those who said that the Delhi Bus Corridor system was an out and out failure, here is a reality check.

A poll conducted by NDTV shows that there is a sharp divide in opinion on the success of the project between those who use buses on the corridor and those who drive cars on the same stretch.

Road Widening Hits Road Block - PIL

31 May 2008 - 11:33pm — Naveen

Karnataka High Court admits PIL against Road Widening Projects in Bangalore

Issues emergent notices to Respondents

Dedicated bus lanes - a presentation for BBMP

16 May 2008 - 10:27am — Naveen

I made a presentation yesterday to Mr.Subramanya (BBMP Commisioner) at his office about the single bus lane idea. He was quite interested and said he would discuss with his committee and revert. He also agreed very well that the solution was not to build or widen more roads or flyovers. He also mentioned some problems that are being faced with the underpasses construction on Bellary road - the actual costs were much higher than anticipated because numerous problems had cropped up - conduits for sewerage, water, telephone, electricity, etc that were marked incorrectly on admittedly very old drawings that now need to be re-aligned !

[Here is the presentation, prepared with a lot of help from folks and material here on Praja]

Features of Baiyappanahalli Metro Station

9 May 2008 - 10:45pm — Naveen

Station features sourced from BMRC website: http://bmrc.co.in/pdf/byplf.pdf

BRTS – Certainly Possible & Can be Seamlessly Integrated too !

6 May 2008 - 12:25pm — Naveen

Planning BRT Corridors along narrower /congested roads & areas can be done by using up only one lane about 12-ft wide for one-way flows whilst using a similar lane on a different road for the return journey. This also has the advantage of wider coverage thrown in for the benefit of commuters. On wider roads, Syamese-twin pairs of bus-ways can be planned with overtaking facility at some bus stops for express /skip-stop services (20 ft width corridor would be required at bus stops for this, but they can be staggered on up & down directions to prevent 40’ width of the road at any given point from being used up).

Public Bus Transport – The Fare /Quality Nexus

1 May 2008 - 4:05pm — Naveen

Unlike international practices, public transport, mainly bus services in India being a low-income country, have generally been governed by low fares at low levels of service. One type of low-quality service was acceptable to all then & even now, except for the better off cities (such as Bangalore, Mumbai & Delhi), public transport is generally based on these principles. As a result, there had been leakages – keeping fares low to assist poor travelers & low-income groups involves a leakage of benefits to better off passengers. The lower the fare, for a given level of service, the higher is the leakage. Conversely, for a given fare, increasing the level of service will also increase leakage. Most public bus operators in the country are thus, deep in the red, with increasing subsidies.

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How does Europe & the rest of the world do it ?

15 April 2008 - 7:58pm — Naveen

Blrsri - referring to yr post elsewhere, & also in general, some issues that need to be highlighted ---

In USA /Europe & in rapidly developing far-eastern cities, the situation is very different, & solutions are found far more scientifically. They also have the advantage of much smaller populations & a more homogenous mix of users. This makes it easy for them to make changes as & when necessary with minimal objections or agitation. The old city of Rome is an example with very narrow streets, but traffic is very well controlled & directed, with efficient supervision & real-time monitoring.

As I see it, our difficulties are far more numerous & are summarized below.

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Part II: Non-Motorised User Facilities

10 April 2008 - 4:26pm — Naveen

Pedestrian Facilities
Excerpts from various sections of the CTTP report are as follows :
3.13.1.9: There is high pedestrian traffic in core area and some other areas in Bangalore. Footpath facilities are generally not adequate and their condition is deteriorating. Therefore up gradation of their facilities is very important.
5.5.8 (Preferred Strategy for Transport Development): Special facilities for pedestrians within the entire network specially in the core areas; Pedestrianization of selected shopping streets in side the core area going to be served by Underground sections of Metro; Provision of pedestrian sky walks, under passes, footpaths and other road furniture along the roads where necessary.
7.9: Recommends as many as 78 roads within ORR & 54 roads outside ORR for improvements & widening.
7.11.2.2 (Foot paths): Recommends a width of 2.0m for sidewalks for about 350 kms of city roads.

Part I: BRTS

10 April 2008 - 4:16pm — Naveen

Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS)
Earlier (1999), a feasibility study for BRTS had identified a promising network of 20 corridors for bus routes comprising twin central rings intersected by 8 radial routes, with assistance from SIDA, Sweden. A pilot project of 12kms from Jayanagar to Shivajinagar with a combination of exclusive lanes with priority of passage at signals & construction of rapid transit lines was planned but never materialized & was abandoned without any attempt. There is no mention of this in the CTTP-2007 report, either. If this had commenced then, we might have seen it progress to some extent & at least, public opinion about the value of such quicker means of public travel would have been recognized.

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Urban Rail - The Chennai Experience

1 April 2008 - 4:52pm — Naveen

Sometime back, I remember reading a report in a magazine (published from either HongKong or Singapore) about the Chennai Suburban Rail (CRS) & the newer MRTS. This report, I think was actually based on a study for economic assistance for expansion of the Chennai MRTS (Phases 2 & 3).

The need for BRTS

26 March 2008 - 8:01pm — Naveen

This refers to the article in TOI & the guest column by Muralidhar Rao.

The basic premise on which public transport is based is that if the road seems too narrow with high volumes of traffic, there is a case for public transport. The higher the volume of traffic on a road, the stronger is the case for public transport.

In India, the low–cost /low–quality public buses are now not preferred by the upwardly mobile strata. Rail-based systems (such as Metro /Monorail) are very expensive to build & maintain & will therefore, not have extensive reach for a long time to come. The city cannot make do with widening roads & adding elevated roads continuously. No city has ever been able to “build” its way out of the problem. A new, faster & cost efficient system is required for quality conscious groups, over & above the existing low quality bus network. BRTS fulfills these requirements & is perhaps, the only available alternative worth exploring.

The Traffic Quagmire – Using Logic & Rationality the Right Way

25 March 2008 - 9:35pm — Naveen

Vasanth - your post ‘Using Technology the Right Way’ made good reading.

We can come up with umpteen reasons for the chaos that traffic is, but simply put, there is just one real core issue – the city is trying to cope with traffic loads for which it’s road network certainly was never designed nor envisaged. Despite having lost the battle time & again, all efforts so far have been to satisfy the ‘Car lobbies’, even at the expense of pedestrians, bicyclists & public transport users. Planning & Construction of the Metro rail is the only exception.Plans, policies & procedures that involve a multi-dimensional approach to seek long-term & permanent solutions have never materialized, though efforts have been made.