BENGALURU: If the
average vehicular speed at the city’s
congested junctions is any indication, walking to one’s destination is far better.
An analysis by The Times of India of October’s traffic data from the city’s 37 congested junctions -- identified by
Bengaluru Traffic Police -- revealed that traffic moves at its slowest at Arekere Gate,
Bannerghatta Road, where the average speed is 10.18kmph. It is followed by Goraguntepalya Junction, Tumakuru Road (10.49kmph), K G Halli Circle (12.09kmph), South End Circle (12.16 kmph) and Majestic (12.64kmph).
The data also revealed that the worst time to be on the city’s roads is 7pm.
Incidentally, Central Silk Board Circle, which is notorious for traffic congestion, recorded a slightly better average speed last month, at 19kmph.
The average speed at congested junctions varies due to factors like rain, protests, accidents and VIP movement. Regulars at Arekere Gate on Bannerghatta Road said the four-road intersection sees heavy traffic congestion round the clock, with vehicles plying to and from Puttenahalli, Bannerghatta, Arekere and Jayadeva Hospital.
Manjunath S, a regular here, said: “This stretch sees heavy movement. There is an increase in traffic because of shopping malls, IT companies and residential buildings.”
However, BBMP’s plans to build a flyover at JD Mara and also widen the existing road is progressing at snail’s pace.
“Congestion is defined based on the ratio of volume of vehicles and capacity of roads. Indian Road Congress standards say a junction which sees more than 10,000 vehicles per hour requires a grade separator or an underpass to ease traffic snarls,” said Professor M N Srihari, adviser to the state government on infrastructure.
Commuters say Goraguntepalya Junction (Intersection of Outer Ring Road and Tumakuru Road Junction) is another bottleneck. “I spend 10-15 minutes at this junction every day,” said S Vineeta, a techie and regular commuter on this road.
Majestic, an intermodal transit centre – with bus services (both BMTC and KSRTC stations), Metro (North-South and East-West corridors) and trains (KSR Railway Station) — is also facing heavy traffic congestion and affecting thousands of commuters.
TIMES VIEWAt a time when cities are adopting technology and robust public transport systems to beat congestion, Bengaluru is still inching along its inadequate road infrastructure, trapped in gridlocks. The only way forward for a city with such a dense population is a dependable system which integrates the Metro and public buses. The faster Bengaluru gets a comprehensive Metro network, the better. While congestion tax and steep parking fees are bound to run into opposition, the government needs to take bold steps for the larger good.