Poor planning causes bottlenecks

Bangalore has become synonymous with poor management of traffic and the citizens can attribute this tag to several reasons.

Adding to the chaos are intersections in the City where traffic moves in all directions.
These intersections neither have any signals nor any policemen controlling the situation. It’s particularly bad during the rains, when traffic flow becomes haphazard.
This is a common sight at Palace Road (near Mount Carmel College), Malleswaram, Lavelle Road and Koramangala to name a few areas.

For instance, at Kalpana Circle near Mount Carmel College, there is traffic movement in all four directions (from Cunningham Road, both sides of Palace Road and Sankey Road).

   Bangaloreans who commonly face this problem share their experiences with Metrolife.

Prerana Das, who has recently completed an engineering course, says that this is a problem she keeps facing.

“I have faced this issue several times. Recently, when I was travelling from Yeshwantpur to Peenya, I came across a large intersection where traffic moves in all directions. It’s a complete mess. And this was with a policeman around,” explains Prerana.

   “It’s important that both policemen and electronic signals are incorporated to control the mess,” she opines.

Ashok Narayan, a professional, adds that he hates these intersections. “When I have the choice of avoiding such intersections, I just do so. For instance, I avoid Palace Road as far as possible. I don’t understand why nothing has been done about the situation. It’s not that it’s an unmanageable one,” he says.

For many, this is a common sight in the City. Dheeraj Bhatia, who has just completed his engineering from MS Ramaiah Institute of Technology, says “The traffic flow is haphazard and there is no one to guide the drivers when this happens. During the rains, it’s even worse and can increase the risk of accident.” Pointing out places where he has experienced this, Dheeraj says, “It’s an issue at Sadashivanagar and near IISc while coming from Yeshwantpur. It’s really not an issue which cannot be solved.”

But even with most citizens looking for the traffic police to bring in some change, Sujatha Nagendra, a homemaker, feels that it is the responsibility of each one to be careful.

   “Whether there is a signal or policemen or not, it is for the drivers to take care,” she opines.Most feel that the increasing number of vehicles on the road and constraint on manpower has caused this problem.

   “Right now, there are around 330 signal lights and 700 to 800 policemen who man signals. There are some circles where there is a need for controlling traffic but with lack of manpower, we will have to address these issues in the coming days,” explains B Dayananda, additional commissioner of police (traffic).