Pedestrianising Avenue Road

History beckons the Bangalorean to its Pete, the bustling network of labyrinthine roads defined by a thousand trades.

But the City’s unbridled expansion had no concern for that heritage, methodically crafted by Kempegowda himself in 1537 AD. Centuries later, there is now a proposal to revive the Pete’s original glory: By pedestrianising Avenue Road and revitalising the road’s junction with Chickpet main road: The legendary starting point of Bangalore!

Choosing an auspicous day in 1537, the City’s founder had organised a ground-breaking ritual at this spot, then known as the Doddapete (Square). Four pairs of decorated milk-white bullocks were let loose to plough the land in four directions from this focal point. The routes traversed by those four ploughs eventually became the nucleus of the new town’s four main streets. Three out of the four towers erected later at the Square to commemorate the event still stands today although the traffic umbrella that stood at its centre as Karnataka’s first, has disappeared.

Over the last 476 years, the City has grown exponentially. But the centrality of Avenue Road as Bangalore’s first, biggest and busiest shopping area has remained intact. The proposed pedestrianisation of the road is designed to preserve this heritage and to rid the place of its chaotic traffic, at least during the day.

The big idea is to completely turn the road into a pedestrians-only street from 6 am to 10 pm. “A lot of traffic can be diverted through the adjacent roads. There are more than 10 crossroads linked to Avenue road. But in case of emergencies, a separate access lane could be allowed,” explained urban architect Naresh Narasimhan, the brain behind the proposal. 

Steel bollards could be erected at all the access points to the road to keep off the vehicles. Post 10 pm, these bollards could go down, allowing traffic to re-enter.
Pedestrian-priority is critical to the proposed plan. This is to be achieved through a shared street format, where the entire street becomes a slow zone for all users. For pedestrian accessibility, continuous footpaths or safe shared space with minimal grade differences are proposed.

BBMP had tried to evict hawkers from the footpaths on many occasions but failed. A solution through creative use of the space vacated by the parked vehicles. “The width occupied by parked vehicles can become multifunctional if it includes occasional ‘break-out’ spaces for street vending or street furniture.”

There is another rationale for making the road more accessible for walkers. Studies prove that cars don’t stop at commercial areas, people do. “When shopping destinations work for pedestrians and connect well to public transportation, people linger longer and spend more,” reasons one such report. The study had indicated that about 70 per cent of the shoppers get around walking, and only six per cent drive!