The new Additional Commissioner of Police, Traffic, Dr Saleem, IPS, has instituted a Traffic Advisory Committee (TAC), comprising traffic 'experts' from across the city, which incidentally includes three PRAJA members - Pranav, Sathya, and myself - to interact with the traffic police at the highest level on a monthly basis, with a view to finding solutions for the city's vexatious traffic problems, at the macro level.
Three meetings have taken place so far, the deliberations at which may be accessed here and here. PRAJA members can perhaps offer to take up city wide issues at the TAC, if a consensus has been arrived at on the solutions through discussions on praja.in.
Simultaneously, meetings are being held at various traffic sub-divisional levels also to find solutions at micro levels. And, these may perhaps be taken up with the jurisdictional traffic sub-division, like in this specific case.
Muralidhar Rao
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Congratulations for yet
Congratulations for yet another mile stone for Praja. Pranav, Murali and Satya. Great going!
Hope some good comes out of it.
Congratulations ! I hope this has some positive effect. Having spent a lot of time analyzing the situation in Malleswaram I would be happy to pass on my analysis - some of which I have posted and it has been discussed elsewhere.
I read somewhere that Dr. Saleem is keen on one ways, which i think is a good thing and is an important aspect in solving the situation in many areas.
Ramesh
Cantonment Station circle.
I was looking throught he minutes and while I have noticed some of the changes ( auto stand in front of Mantri Mall ) which I think are positive there is one huge disastrous situation which perhaps it would be good to address. This is the circle near Cantonment station - where Millers Road, Jaymahal Road, Cant Station Road and MV. Jayaram Road meet.
If one hopes to go from Jayaram road to Millers Road eastwards one runs the risk of getting hit from two places - essentially one has to cross traffic from Millers Road road Jaymahal Road.
Also traffic from Millers road westwards has to travel an extra 1km to go straight - the way things are designed. This result, two wheelers try all kinds of illegal manouvres to avoid this.
All these problems can be solved by making it in to a big circle roundabout instead of the awfully complicated existing situation.
Ramesh
@rs, there used to be circle before!
@rs,
I am not sure how many knows this that there used to be a 'round about' (circle) before at the Old Overbridge near Cantonment Station.
I agree the present provisions are not the way to solve the problem, also in high traffic volumes, round abouts become bottleneck and therefore are not preferred.
Certainly this junction flow needs to be redesigned to bring in safety and optimum flow of traffic.
A on-spot survey by Praja?
I think a roundabout with
I think a roundabout with traffic signals will work fine - I suspect before there were no traffic signals. The main problem is not the flow of traffic but more the design is such that some of the turns are risky. And the fact that some traffic has to travel an extra 1 km needlessly ( which also causes peopel who can violating it ). Added to this brilliant design is a bus stop in the middle of the junction.
Ramesh
Oh, and infact the extra 1 km
Oh, and infact the extra 1 km is also badly designed. If they close road which is west of the veternary college ( this is the small 300 mt road ) in fact they can eliminate the signal at the junction with Queens road. Since the way it is designed the traffic blocks the free flow of traffic. Its hard to describe but if you look at the map it is immediate what I mean. Closing the road will in fact improve traffic greatly and eliminate a signal without any ill effects.
Congrats to Praja and here are some of my observations
1. BTM Layout - ORR Between Advaita Petrol Bunk and Silkboard - This is the worst portion which is being used by both Electronic City, ORR and ITPL bound traffic. Especially the peak hours are horrible - It takes 30 minutes to cross 2 kms which is equivalant to walkable speed.
While passing towards Silkboard, Madiwala Lake junction signal cycle is too long which is only taken by private cars and 2 wheelers resulting in huge pile up of buses, trucks and other vehicles on the ORR. This signal cycle needs to be altered to give more signal cycles to ORR traffic and less signal cycle @ around 15-30 secs to the cross roads.
2. Airport Road Murgesh Palya near Pizza Hut while travelling from Marathalli towards Domlur - This is one of the junctions where again due to long singal cycle vehicles pile up. Again here there are more signal cycles for the cross roads which needs to be altered.
3. Airport Road HAL Signal while travelling from Domlur towards Marathalli - Again here due to wrong and long signal cycles for the traffic taking right turn from Marathalli Side towards HAL Parking results in pile up of vehicles coming from Domlur.
4. Marenahalli Road between Kadrenahalli Under Pass and Banashankari Bus Stand should be made one way and all the autos eliminated. This is a very high density Bus Traffic area and the recent TTMC opened in Banashankari has added more woes to it. We can have the buses coming towards Banashankari on the Marenahalli Main Road and the traffic going towards West take a right turn and head North in Banashankari Bus Stand Signal and again take left near the Mind Tree office.
We need Synchronized Signals for a particular speed say 40kph and Bill boards written everywhere saying stay @ 40 kph and pass through all the signals without waiting. This will reduce speeds of the vehicles, increase mileage thereby reducing greengas emissions.
On a pilot basis, they should enforce lane discipline in roads like KG Road, Airport Road wherever there is one way by putting traffic cones. If the cones falls down, the hitting driver should be peenalized. Same way, we need barricades in the signals where right lane will turn only right and left and straight traffic taking middle/left lane.
Speed Limits are enforced only during days using speed cameras, whereas during nights, there is no control. All the call centre cabs will run like mad horses after 8pm. Speed cameras should be increased and probably be automated like in advanced countries without a police interceptor van standing and waiting to catch the offender.
Different Speed Limits to Different Vehicles will create problem
In the PDF I observed that there are different speed limits for different types of vehicles such as cars @ 60, bikes and buses @ 50 and rickshaws and mopeds @ 40kph.
If we do not have the same speed for all the vehicles, there is fragmentation that will lead to congestion again. Also, speed limits should be based on Road Conditions. For instance ORR between Hebbal and Silkboard can be given 80kph limit for certain lanes since very shortly it will become signal free. There should be seperate lanes for 2 wheelers and Autos whose limit should be 60kph and cars should not be allowed to this lane for the safety of two wheelers and Autos.
I would say, keep the speed limit the same for all the types of vehicles depending upon road conditions. For instance, in town roads where there is pedestrain traffic like say DVG Road, a car going at 60 kph is more dangerous than a Bike going at 60 kph. A bike going @ 80kph on ORR is more dangerous than a car going @ 80kph.
Bazaar Streets Like DVG Road, Avenue Road, BVK Iyengar Road, Gandhi Bazar main road etc should have a speed limit of 35-40 kph for all sorts of vehicles since this is a pedestrain zone.
Wide one way Roads like KG Road, JC Road, Kasturba Road etc should have uniform speed limit of 50kph. It would be good if we have vehicle lanes seperation to ensure the safety of 2 wheelers. Our city is primarily comprised of 2 wheelers then comes the cars. No of 2 wheelers is 3-4 times that of cars. But the Police as well as planners never consider 2 wheelers. They take them for granted. When said, planners often say they should take Buses or use Bicycles :) They are also human beings and they have same priorities and time boundness of car owners . Only thing is they cannot afford to buy or cannot afford to run cars, they should not be neglected and their safety should be considered with utmost priority.
FedEx to help in Promoting Sustainable Transport for Bangalore
FedEx to help in Promoting Sustainable Transport for Bangalore. More can be found here
If we do not have the same
If we do not have the same speed for all the vehicles, there is fragmentation that will lead to congestion again.
This is an absolutely correct statement but whereas asking for segregation for 2 wheeled motor vehicles in the same breath is counter intutive. It will be difficult to manage. While the speed of 60 defined for arterial roads is appreciated it is not an excuse for not posting signboards. Residential areas need to be restricted to 30 so where not posted default speed should be 30kmph.
Why is it that City Taxi' like MERU, Easy Cab are not allowed
My first had experience the City Cabs like MERU, Easy Cabs are not allowed to enter the Railway Station ( Ysvantpur ) to receive the passengers.
It seems Auto unions are giving trouble to these city Taxies and these city taxies will pick the passengers at a dist of 200 Mts from station.
Same thing with BMTC buses not playing into City Railway Station, Yesvantpur, specifically Valvo Buses are not played for Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Sampark Kranthi, Durrunto Trains. Imagine, BMTC getting premium customers from ralways from these Trains.
METRO will not be solution for these problems unless City Traffic Police ensures that Auto Unions does not create trouble for other modes of PT for the Stations & BMTC should come forward to pick passengers from major stations.
Hope Additional Commissioner of Police of Traffic looks into these and helps the citizens to use effectively PT
why is it Hebbal Junction and Manyata tech park area traffic issue are not looked into. Look at how citizens cross the Roads in the absence of foot over Bridge at Hebbal & Manyata tech Park entrance and similar case with K R Puram Bridge citizens coming from Railway Station and crossing ring road.
Traffic Police & BBMP should build foot over bridge at the enterance of Cantonment Station and ensure its connected to Cant Station Foot over bridge. These simple things are neglected and citizens are taken for granted on these.
Traffic Police & BMTC should give though on providing cover for the Majestic foot over bridge of BMTC bus stand which is almost 200 Mts in length.
This will help elder people like Murali to walk in shade & even during rainy days, gives good protection. Cycle should be allowed to use the BMTC foot over bridge to cross from City Station end to other side.
Also pedestrian crossing at Malleshwarm Circle which was build and not opened, do the Traiffic police / PAC have any role to play in that as public money is spent.
Speed limit based on street
Not sure from where or how the idea of speed limits based on vehicle types originated.
As Vasanth has generalized above, speed limits must be governed by street width, use & conditions rather than vehicle type. Bazaar streets must necessarily have limits of 30kmph - no more due to high pedestrian traffic.
This aside, there seem to be no attempt to formalize pedestrian disciplining with pedestrian wardens to channel them correctly at traffic crossings such as busy signalized traffic intersections & high-density pedestrian crossings on some busy streets (like JC RD, Richmond rd, etc). This is one aspect in bangalore that is badly needed.
In cities like Chennai & Kolkata, traffic cops generally fulfill this need, but it does not have to be them. In Chinese cities, there appears to be a separate cadre (wearing highly visible, blue uniforms) that is doing a fantastic job - see an example of an orderly street intersection with pedestrian sentries in Guangzhou here.
Can TAC help in getting 3rd Entrance to Yesvantpur Station
As Yesvantpur station is beeing major traffic hub. With METRO station coming up next to station, area will see more public using.
Already Yesvantpur station entrance on both side are congested & it will get further worse soon, their is one more un-offical entrance from J P park end which conencted to North Bangalore with 2+2 road lane directly from Mathikeri Bus stop to Yesvantpur station with jsut less then 2 Kms.
Imagine driving to Yesvantpur Railway Station on 2+2 lane ( like in BIAL ). Can PAC take up the issue with BBMP & SWR to make it public road with buses playing to station.
Above has 2+2 lane road from Mathikeri via J P Park upto SWR compound of Yesvntpur station and then their is a SWR gate which will allow only cars & autos to play during 6 am to 11 pm, then close it during night. Their is a decent bus stand next to J P Park called Chudeshvari Bus Stand and buses play at 5 min frequency. If the road inside SWR is amde public, the BMTC can extend these buses upto Yesvantpur station which is just 1 kms from J P park.
Concerned authorities & eople who are involved should help public to travell by walk, cycling on this road to reach either station or METRO and allow BMTC buses to play upto Yesvantpur Station after require improvements. This will help north bangalore to greate extent.
Issue raised in 2nd TAC meeting
Last meeting I raised the issue of Police constabulary not being empowered to write challans. There is talk of empowering citizens to submit violations but their own constables are just glorified "hand wavers". Mr Saleem replied saying that while they dont have the right to issue challans under current rules they do note down the violations & submit the list end of the day for issuing challans.
To my response that a visible issuance of challan for at least some violations by the constable at the spot is more effective. RK Mishra disagreed & pointed out it might be counter productive & moving violations are better left to cameras & offline collection. Pulling people over I was informed is more suitable on highways.
Others were getting impatient to get to their issue & I didnt get the chance to point out that the decision to sieze the drivers license for driving on the footpath is a moving offence. So will they note down the number & ask the person to mail in their license?
Generally the traffic violations are blamed on engineering. I want to raise the issue of Vittal Mallya road which is engineered properly. Why are people still driving on the wrong side & parked cars/taxis take up one full lane in front of the UB city complex? In fact at the Kasturba road end every vehicle jumps the queue & take up all lanes including the opposite lanes. The constable there is just a spectator.
Here is a pilot project for BTP. If the constable at the vittal mallya road/kasturba road intersection was empowered to isue a challan at the spot will it make the others stay on the right side or will it be more effective if the constable/camera notes the number & send the challan home? WIll be interesting if they try each method for a month & see which one makes a difference. It will be good to try the camera/non-invasive method first give a break observe the trends & then try the spot challaning method
I actually prefer the usage of the camera technology but only for enforcing exceptions. When there is rampant malpractices on spot methods are needed to bring some discipline.
Next meeting
Next meeting I would like to table the fact that people are allowed to drive without side view mirrors, folded side view mirors, broken/non-functioning tail lights & head lights. Fancy colored lightning (some colored lights mislead people to think it is an emergency vehicle). What is the BTP's view on these violations?
I also want to bring up the issue of the number of tow trucks in operation & what are the practices around towing broken down vehicles.
Go to your local Police Station
All attending the meeting were told that the event is held in parellel at the same time in all police stations. So all are encouraged to spread the word, go to the local police station & talk to them about your issues. Continue to post your issues here so we can take what is appropriate to them. Because we cannot hog the time given to all we will raise one or max of two issues each month on behalf of Praja RAAG
Praja in Traffic Advisory Committee
Congratulations and best wishes to our Triumvirare in the TAC. This is indeed a dream come true. (Similar AC also needed for BMTC).
To add a couple of points-
1. Bus Shelters-
In spite of the BBMP Dy. Commissioner(Advt) promising a year back that future Shelters would incorporate Commuter-friendly features, the newly built/renovated shelters are much worse from the commuters' view as even the existing names of bus stops have been entirely erased to make room for more advt. space.
Secondly the interests of pedestrians and bus commuters are ignored and numerous so-called shelters are being added encroaching the footpaths, depriving this facility to them, even though no buses ever stop at these bus shelters. These should be dismantled forthwith and re-erected at locations where these are direly needed, in consultation with BTP, BMTC and bus commuters.
2. One-ways-
It is agreed that these have become a necessary evil, much against the interests of bus commuters-cum- pedestrians. Especially where there are no parallel roads for reverse bus routes, the commuters are forced to walk long distances to catch the return buses. When the new Commissioner, Mr. Saleem took charge he had indicated that he would give priority to the safety of pedestrians. The BTP should review critically all the one-ways and dispense with them wherever not found absolutely essential. This will not only serve the bus commuters but also go a long way to reduce travel time and distance of vehicles, saving petrol, money, time and also reduce pollution.
K.V.Pathy
MoM held on 17th Dec
The minutes of the meeting of the TAC held on the 17th Dec may be accessed here. I couldn't attend since I was travelling.
What is noteworthy is the participation now of BBMP, BESCOM, BDA and other government agency officials, and with the Commissioner himself chairing the meeting, we can perhaps hope for co-ordinated action too.
Dr Saleem definitely deserves the appreciation of the public for this initiative.
Doddenakundi - U-turn to enter ORR
There is a connecting road between outer ring road, and the Whitefield Road (Graphite India), shown in the map. Many a time, buses to ITPL area take this road, from outer ring road, to avoid the traffic in Marathahalli, kundenahalli, etc.. Buses coming from ITPL to outer ring road need to take a sharp u-turn to enter the outer ring road, and most of the time, there is a traffic build up there due to this.. Once te outer ring road becomes signal free, I guess these would be bottle necks!
Either we need to prohibit large vehicles from entering this stretch, so as to avoid the traffic build up here.. Other option is to make the u-turn smoother, by aquiring some more land over there.. One possible design is given in the picture below.. I guess there is some land belonging to BDA/BBMP at this site, and the modification might be possible.. Not sure, how to check if this land is indeed with BDA/BBMP!
Waiting to hear from prajagalu, your opinions on the proposal (on the cost-need-feasibility part), and if it is found to be feasible, how to take it forward!
The flyover construction near
The flyover construction near Intel and Ecospace on Outer Ring road was going full speed for some time, and now, it is almost complete.. But, the last part seems to be taking more time, as usual..
I remember passingthe flyovers in the beginning of August, when they had started putting gravel over the flyover road (before completing the construction), and thinking that the one in front of Intel would be completed by Aug 15, and the one near Ecospace would be completed by end of August.. End of august has passed, and we are getting closer to mid-Sept, and it seems that the wokr has not progressed much since then..
Guess I am being too optimistic in thinking that it will get over in another month.. What do the others think? Is there a way of bringing this work to focus again? Bring it up in the TAC once more?