'Two-Way delight?' (Ref.TOI report dt. 18th Sept).
A smooth wide two-way road from Trinity cicle to Indiranagar 100ft. road will no doubt be a delight for vehicular traffic, esp. the two wheeler racers. But the safety of the bus commuters and pedestrians who also form a major portion of users of this road seems to have been forgotten by the designers even after huge amounts are spent for the same.
The foot paths on either side have all but disappeared on the OMR. On CMH road it is only an apology with side drains covered with slabs posing as 'foot paths'!
Without suitably designed and constructed foot paths as per norms, this stretch will prove to be a death trap for pedestrians being forced to walk on the main road and to bus commuters without any bus shelters, standing on the road itself, falling prey to vehicles driven rashly on the smooth new road.
It is imperative to complete these basic necessities, even if it takes a couple of months more, instead of opening the incomplete road in a hurry, posing the users to sure hazards.
The concerned depts., authorities responsible for the construction and maintenance of this road should complete the road in all aspects so that it can be called 'world class'.
K.V.Pathy
Forward this Blog entry
Comments
Yes, in fact right now since
Yes, in fact right now since there is no traffic the road - pits and construction notwithstanding - it is not entirely unpleasant to walk on CMH road. I suppose once the work is finished it will become a disaster zone for pedestrians like the rest of this city. I dont know why there is absolutely no consideration given to pedestrians in any of these developmental schemes.
Ramesh
Pedestrian access to metro
I remember that there were promises made about providing good pedestrian access 500m on either side from all metro stns. Wonder what happened to all of that ?
In the case of CMH rd, it looks really bad as the road appears to have been widened at the expense of reducing sidewalk widths. I think they should widen the footpaths & reduce the road width - even a single lane in each direction should be enough, but buses might find it hard to manoever & stop at halts.
The only option is to take on the CMH traders to acquire land for widening sidewalks. I think this also appears to have failed with no takers for TDR or other compensation/s.
Well, they can always make
Well, they can always make bus bays at the halts. In fact, I think a single lane makes traffic move much more smoothly as there isnt much room for all those morons who are in some inexplicable hurry. So traffic is more orderly. I noticed this on Chord road in the parts where the metro work has made it one lane.
Ramesh
No compromising pedestrian interests, please!
Catchment area pedestrian facilitation has to be an integral part of Public Transport system planning. Otherwise, the ultimate objective of using public transport for say 80% of trips made in a city (like in New York, Paris, London) will not be achieved, and we will be faced with newer problems, in addition to the older ones, negating the whole purpose of this juggernaut of an exercise.
I think a single lane makes traffic move much more smoothly
The problem, however, is if there's a breakdown of a vehicle.
Well, if there are no other satisfactory solution, perhaps some of these stretches may have to revert to being one-ways. Whatever, the pedetrians' interests cannot be allowed to be compromised.