One more trip to la-la land for Mysoreans?

Sayyaji Rao, D D Urs roads may be free of traffic

Mysoreans sure would be glad if they were wrong on this. But, having heard unending stories about how Mysore was going to be turned into a paradise, or further beautified, or be restored with glory of the days gone by; this one will be taken with a pinch of salt.

This time around, a piece of pie in the sky, is about the Mysore City Corporation (MCC) planning to make a stretch of Sayyaji Rao road and D Devaraja Urs road as a walking zone on weekends on the lines of Mall road in Shimla and M G road in Gangtok.

The proposal is to make Sayyaji Rao road from K R Circle to Dhanvanthri road intersection as a walking zone on Saturday or Sunday depending on the traffic flow. Later, if it becomes a success, it would be extended up to K R Hospital Circle (Visvesvaraya Circle).

Speaking to Deccan Herald, MCC commissioner K S Raykar said the plan has been forwarded to the police department to identify the bottlenecks related to traffic management on busy Sayyaji Rao and D Devaraja Urs roads.

He said the walking zone would be effective on either Saturday or Sunday from 7 to 9 pm or 6 to 8 pm. He said a meeting has been held with the deputy commissioner and police commissioner to determine if the idea was feasible.

Raykar emphasised that the move would be carried out after a study on impact of traffic and parking related issues. While there is reluctance to make D Devaraj Urs road as walking zone, a decision would be taken based on feasibility, he added.

The proposal is similar to walking zones on Mall road in Shimla, capital of Himachal Pradesh, M G road in Gangtok, capital of Sikkim, and along the beach in Puducherry.

A similar concept is applied in Bangalore Christmas eve and New Year’s eve when traffic is not allowed on M G road and Brigade road.

However, when H T Sangliana was police commissioner of Bangalore, a move to make M G road a walking zone on Sundays had failed to take off.

Police commissioner K L Sudheer said the department was examining the probability of the move. He said several issues, including parking and alternate routes for traffic have to be identified before the proposal is implemented.

“There is a lot of difference between theory and practical aspects,” he added. With Sayyaji Rao road being an important connecting road to the centre of the city, he said a decision would be taken based on traffic situation.

Royal Mysore Walks founder Vinay P was in favour of converting Sayyaji Rao road into a walking zone. Citing examples, he said in Singapore, a few roads are closed from 6 to 9 pm. During this time a lot of eateries are allowed to do business.

In Harvard, students earn by displaying their skills on a particular street, when the road is blocked on holidays.