HBR metro station will choke ORR, say residents

Several property owners of HBR Telecom Layout have expressed concern that the upcoming metro station on the Outer Ring Road (ORR) will choke traffic by reducing road space in the junction.

In a release, they said the HBR station, part of the revised airport metro corridor from KR Puram, will lead to high traffic congestion.

“The station proposed to be built at a cost of Rs 150 crore is 0.9 km from Nagavara station and 1.2 km from Kalyan Nagar. E-rickshaw and shuttle buses can help commuters reach the two stations from either side,” they said.

They said vehicles on the ORR enter the 18-ft wide service road during the peak hours, leading to gridlocks. Even if the BMRCL or BBMP construct pedestrian walkways, crossing the road will be a tough task, they added.

BMRCL’s chief public relations officer B L Yashavanth Chavan said the station site has been chosen after careful evaluation.

“As per the guidelines, a metro line should have a station ideally at an average distance of about 1 km. The HBR station site has been chosen after studies showed that it will cause minimum inconvenience to the public,” he said.

A metro engineer said that residents should not worry about reduced road space considering that the metro offers an alternative to private vehicles.