Nightmare on the roads

Complete Chaos

Traffic jams, especially during rush hour, have more or less become synonymous with Bangalore roads. This isn’t only because the roads are poorly maintained.

Traffic congestion is especially common outside the City’s multinational companies, colleges and call centres. During peak hours, the vehicles coming out of these establishments contribute to the jams. Some companies have even hired traffic volunteers to stop traffic when their employees want to cross the road, causing hindrance to other motorists. 

Be it near tech-parks or even on roads and areas like Bannerghatta Main Road, Ulsoor, Silk Board Junction and Old Madras Road, heavy traffic is a perennial problem. Tamana, a professional, who works in Richmond Town, stays close to the Jayadeva flyover. Nearly everyday, she has to brave the traffic on Bannerghatta Road to reach home. “Around six in the evening, the traffic on that road is simply unbeatable.

There are days when everyone’s driving bumper-to-bumper and it takes me close to 30 minutes to pass the junction. But this jam is only from Dairy Circle till Sagar Hospital junction. Post that, the road is pretty much free. One of the main reasons is the number of vehicles coming out of the companies during the same time on that road,” she adds.

Prithvi, an employee of a call centre on Bannerghatta Main Road, says that he has observed that congestion on the roads worsens around the time that the general shift gets over. And when it rains, the situation only gets worse. “However, there is not much the company can do. We have been advised to carpool and take company vehicles instead of our own transport to lesson the congestion. But the roads are very narrow, adding to the problem. One can’t blame the company alone since there is also an eatery on the road that adds to the congestion,” he says.  
      The stretch between Nagawara and Ulsoor also faces heavy traffic. Sukanya, a professional, who frequently travels on that stretch, states that she takes two hours to pass this junction. But the blame, she says, is not entirely on the companies in that area. “One can see many heavy-duty trucks on the road during rush hour. Also, there’s a flyover being constructed, which only adds to the woes. The traffic is really tiring,” she adds.

Rains, many say, only worsen the situation in these areas. Santosh, a fresher, states that even widening the roads won’t help. “I travel on the ASC Centre Road, where there is traffic nearly everyday. When it rains, it only becomes worse. The worst part is that they had recently cut many trees to widen the road but the problem still persists,” he adds. 

Many add that solutions like constructing flyovers or skywalks to ease the traffic situation won’t help much. Glen, who’s into marketing, travels constantly in the City to meet clients. And most of the time, he gets stuck in front of their offices. “One such area is Old Airport Road. There is a huge pothole right in front of the traffic signal, which congests the road more. Also, the duration of the signal is so little that it takes a lot of time to pass the junction,” he adds. 

  Santosh, a professional, says that carpooling and better-maintained roads will help ease the traffic to an extent. “Building skywalks is of no point as people rarely use them. But at least if companies located on main roads encourage carpooling, the number of cars on the roads will reduce,” he says.