Confusion at the crossroads

In many parts of the City, the vehicular density has increased to the extent that previously barren streets now witness choc-a-block congestion, especially during peak hours.

Bottlenecks are no longer restricted to arterial roads; these traffic jams have spilled over to residential areas, interior streets and narrow one-ways.
The problem, though, is that many of the latter category aren’t equipped to handle the flow of traffic that they currently have to.

While main roads do have signals at regular intervals, these interior streets don’t. In the absence of a signal — or a police official to guide traffic — the rush of vehicles during peak hours leads to traffic gridlock, which sometimes take up to half an hour to navigate.

“It’s to be expected, I suppose,” says Ramnath, a professional who lives in Koramangala. He has stayed in the area for over 20 years, and watched it morph from a quiet neighbourhood to an intersection point that bears the brunt of traffic from Sarjapur Road, Indiranagar and Dairy Circle.

“These days, the interiors of Koramangala are as prone to traffic jams as the main roads. Junctions which don’t have signals are a pain to drive through. Ten years back, these roads witnessed barely any traffic and so a signal would have been unnecessary; however, now, they have become essential,” he adds.

He feels, though, that the problem is gradually being addressed. “It’s happened in the past as well. When the traffic in Koramangala first began to build up, there were no signals. At first, police officials were deployed at critical junctions to guide the flow of traffic. Over time, signals were put up and the situation became marginally better. It’s a matter of time; Bangaloreans will simply have to show a little patience,” he reflects.

At present, there are 343 traffic signals in Bangalore, as well as 625 blinkers. M A Saleem, the additional commissioner of police (traffic), explains that his officials are monitoring the flow of traffic and identifying areas which require additional signals.
“There are between 50 and 60 areas which we have identified that need signals. Until they are set up, we have police officials stationed at these junctions — or home guards, for places on the outskirts of the City — to manually control traffic,” he adds.

Neighbourhoods in the immediate vicinity of tech-parks, malls or Metro stations are especially prone to gridlocks. Gautam, an engineer who lives in Nagawara — not too far from Manyata Tech Park — agrees that the flow of traffic in this area has increased drastically in the last five years.

The infrastructure to cope with this load, however, hasn’t developed accordingly. “There definitely aren’t enough traffic signals in this area — the vehicular density has shot up in the last few years, and there are many junctions which need some form of monitoring,” he notes.

But Anjali, a professional, puts a different spin on things. Having experienced this problem in Taverekere, where she used to stay, she says that a portion of the blame falls on drivers as well.

“It isn’t just the lack of traffic signals — drivers don’t have any notions of road etiquette, nor do they have respect for the rules. With frequent violations like lane-jumping, overtaking from the wrong side and the perpetual habit of trying to push past approaching traffic — especially on the part of autorickshaw drivers — traffic congestion is a given. The absence of signals just adds to this,” she concludes.