Cubbon Park's short-lived eco-relief

Despite its crushing impact on livelihoods, the Covid-19 lockdown did something dramatically positive for Bengaluru’s environment. Its green, lung spaces flourished. The traffic ban through Cubbon Park did wonders for its ecosystem. But just when Bengalureans welcomed this new normal, the vehicles are back in big, choking numbers.

Is this what the doctor ordered? Multiple surveys, one by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and another commissioned by the city traffic police, have given conflicting signals.

The IISc study clearly saw again if the ban is enforced permanently. Eventually, the police decided that the best way to ensure smooth vehicular flow is to reopen the park gates.

PIL proposed

But this has not ended the debate or the citizens’ fight to get the ban back. Determined to ensure that the eco-gains are not frittered away by an official diktat, green activists have now proposed to file a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Karnataka High Court. The motorist-first approach to urban mobility is once again back in sharp focus.

Frantically finding ways to decongest the city’s centre, the traffic police see the re-entry of vehicles into the Park merely as a part of the unlock process. The vehicles were allowed before Covid-19, and re-entry after the lockdown is inevitable. The survey they commissioned only reinforced this argument.

Permanent ban

Based on modelling results and analysis, the IISc study has recommended a complete, permanent ban on motorised traffic inside the park. The study found a net reduction in the Vehicle Kilometres Travelled (VKT) and emissions if the ban is enforced.

Elaborating, the report’s lead author Dr. Ashish Verma notes, “A decision (on bringing back the traffic ban) should be based on the larger aspect of improving the quality of life and overall well-being of Bengalureans. It is about ensuring access to fresh air and a huge lung space to everyone.”

The traffic police study had indicated that the ban would trigger congestion on roads leading to the park. Verma disagrees, “Allowing vehicles inside does not help in decongestion. Before Covid-19, when there was no ban, the adjoining roads were all congested. The only way to decongest is to promote public transport and reduce private transport.”

Independent study

An independent analysis of the traffic pattern by Rajkumar Dugar had shown that the brunt of the traffic load through the park is borne by three roads, one from K R Circle to the Kasturba Road – Vittal Mallya Road junction, another from this junction to GPO Circle and a third from Indian Express side to the junction side. “One has to travel an average additional distance of only 335m to bypass the park,” Dugar explains.

The additional distance and time spent, he notes, are minimal compared to the massive environmental gains for the city’s largest green space. When the ban was in force during the lockdown, the ambient concentration of Carbon Dioxide, PM 2.5 and other pollutants had substantially reduced inside the park.

Revocation, a shock

For heritage activist Priya Chetty Rajagopal, who has led a campaign for the ban, the decision to revoke it came as a shock. “Why was there so much pressure to go back to status quo? We had met the Home, Revenue, and Horticulture Ministers. Top officials were strongly supporting the ban,” she says.

The BBMP Council, she points out, had passed a resolution supporting the ban. “DULT (Directorate of Urban Land Transport) had written a letter to the Horticulture department, strongly recommending the ban. We had spoken to all concerned, do everything by the rulebook. It was a collaborative approach.”

New park survey

As proposed by the IISc study, DULT and citizen groups are expected to shortly commence a survey of the Park. The study had suggested that the survey could look at finding ways to boost the last mile connectivity to the Park from the nearby Metro stations and bus stops.

The study also elaborated on a service quality assessment of pedestrian and cycling facilities in and around the Park. “With the result of this assessment, targeted improvements in walking and cycling facilities can be done to improve the last-mile connectivity of public transport to Cubbon park.”

The objective is clear: Wider and good surface quality footpaths, cycle-paths, cycle-sharing systems with docking locations inside the Park and nearby public transport stations and stops, electric micro-mobility options for the last mile, electric rickshaws/carts inside the Park to especially help elders and the physically challenged.