Everybody has an opinion on why Bangalore has become what it has become, and who caused it. But does anybody have a solution?
As the City’s vehicular population explodes, the tree-lined corridors are being regularly and ruthlessly chopped to widen roads. But is this the only way out? Is it the right approach? And is it a lasting solution that takes care of the rights of pedestrians, the elderly, children, cyclists, pavement vendors and the physically challanged?
# Should public transportation be dramatically and drastically improved to discourage use of private vehicles?
# Should a congestion charge be levied like in London on vehicles entering the heart of the City?
Here’s a chance to make your voice be heard. Hasiru Usiru (HU), a network of concerned citizens that has over the years endeavored to work towards finding creative means in which to conserve the identity of the City, is organising a “Public Consultation” on the impacts and alternatives to the road widening schemes in Bangalore.
The date: Thursday, December 20. The venue: Senate Hall, Central College. The time: 5 pm.
Chief secretary P.B. Mahishi and members of the Bangalore Metropolitan Land Transport Authority are expected to participate. The meet has been organised by Environment Support Group, Citizens Voluntary Initiative for the City, and the Alternative Law Forum.
Also read: Who killed Bangalore?
churumuri 
Call it SOLLENAGARA and it will get the clearence immedietly!
LikeLike
Dear Sir,
I agree with your 1st point fully. We will be anyhow forced to augment our public transportation whether we desire it or not. It is better to augment it before we are forced to do so, in the national as well as global prerogatives.
But when we do so, It is better to consider the traffic demands. I still see the Bangalore traffic as radially oriented. Whichever obscure Bus terminus you observe it is first and foremost connected to either ‘Kempe Gowda Bus Nildana’ or ‘Krishna Rajendra Market’. Even the most important (non-terminal) junctions are improperly connected laterally. Then what is the point in building/designating so many ring roads (inner, intermediate, outer, Peripheral, etc.), if these roads are not used effectively for traffic movement?
Coming to your second point, i don’t agree with taxing people coming into the inner city. They come to the inner city because they are forced by the city planners and traffic planners. Anyhow who are the people travel ing into the city. They are
1. Not high wage earning employees like those from IT related sectors and they are lowly paid Government servants and blue and white collar workers earning low wages. Some of them come on 2-wheelers, for fear of loosing their jobs owing to inadequate public transport.
2. Poor people who come in search of justice (to courts) and with their grievances (to vidhana soudha and Raj Bhavan now) , Hospitals (for treatment), students (for education), Push cart vendors and Small business owners for their daily bread.
3. Many others are forced to travel to center of city as connection point for onward journey, within the city or outside.
IMHO, 50% of the travel requirements to inner city can be avoided, if some of the public service institutions can be relocated in a balanced manner and the public transportation can be reoriented with importance on lateral movement.
LikeLike
The very first thing that needs to be done in Bangalore is to discipline the masses and teach them some traffic rules. The second thing they have to do is to force IT companies and BPOs to use technology and get their employees to telecommute. I know it for a fact that In Bay Area California Cisco software engineers go to the office maybe twice a week, only when they have meetings. Otherwise they operate from home. Next they should get all comapnies that operate from residential areas to hubs like Whitefiled or Electronic City. If these places are full, creating new hubs outside the city with residential complexes is also an option.
LikeLike
The vehicle explosion is not only due to the inadequacies in urban mass transport but also due to the improved affordability for purchasing not only a two wheeler but also a four wheeler, which was not the case in the recent past. You have a considerable number of families having more than one vehicle
Take Jayanagar 4th block for example. You have vehicle users who park for hours by just hanging there, resulting in parking crunch. Genuine shoppers cannot easily park and shop. Situations like this could be avoided if they follow the hourly pay and park as in Brigade road
The Metro work should be speeded up also BMRC should extend the network upto Bidadi (West), Devanahalli (North), Hosakoete (East) and Attibele (South)
The city also needs a bigger and a better terminal railway station. With the city station being over crowded, also the south and south western parts of the city do not have a rail connectivity. Similarly, Yeshwanthpur, Cantt stations need to upgraded with better connectivity and infrastructure.
Rather than blaming and targetting private entities, public private partnership should be encouraged to cooperate and work closely with govt for solving the issues. Egoism and blame game will not help.
Last but not the least, the city was fortunate to get the selfless support and contribution of the Wodeyars and their visionary Dewans for development, which by itself was no small task. The city needs people like them.
LikeLike
agree with Sanjay Guha
he very first thing that needs to be done in Bangalore is to discipline the masses and teach them some traffic rules.
LikeLike
Pingback: Congestion Charges