[.sushilkumar]

Mods :- kindly delete / merge / move the thread as appropriate .

Some thing for Bangalore ;s motorist to ponder over .

Source & Full Times of India Article

BANGALORE: That the motorists in Bangalore don't seem to care for pedestrians has been a subject of intense debate for long. The debate has been set to rest by a New Delhi-based green group's report that statistically shows Bangalore's deficiency in this category.

Among the seven Indian cities surveyed, Bangalore scores the lowest - a measly 30 out of 100 - in the 'motorist behaviour' category, one of the nine parameters considered to determine the walkability (walking infrastructure availability) of a city.

The survey was initially conducted in 13 Asian cites and later extended to seven Indian cities - Bangalore, Chennai, Pune, Bhubaneswar, Indore, Rajkot and Surat. The survey's objective is to rate the Indian cities on walkability parameters and to inform policymakers and stakeholders on the changes required.

Bangalore's low score implies that vehicles seldom stop for pedestrians to cross a road and often halt on the zebra crossing at signals leaving pedestrians with minimum or no space to cross a road. At times, vehicles are driven on the footpaths, robbing the pedestrians of their exclusive zone. More worrying is that the areas where schools are located, too, fared equally badly.

Of the nine parameters set by the survey agency, Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities, Bangalore individually scored the lowest in the 'disability infrastructure' category with a shocking low of 24 against 100. The whole of Asia - and India, in particular - scored very low under the disability infrastructure parameter. This means the differently abled people (visually challenged or wheelchair bound) will find the city roads very unfriendly, with difficulty in moving on the footpaths or even cross roads in the absence of facilities like ramps, lifts or tactile pavements.

[drmohitg]

Infrastructure wise Bangalore does lack behind most other cities I guess. Atleast its way behind Delhi for sure. But road manners are virtually non existent in Delhi. I felt Bangalore was always a little more calmer than Delhi. Not sure how reliable this report is.

[Mik]

The survey was conducted in 7 cities in India, with no survey in Delhi. Pune being most walkable -- thats weird too.

[mayankjha1806]

Not really sure how this study was done, i find it hard to believe Bangalore is the worst of the lot. Although its not much better than the rest either.

What the report points out correctly is the infrastructure is lacking, and its behind some of the similar sized cities. This is one area where Bangalore has been struggling for as far as i can remember. Its time KA govt focuses on work rather than putting CM posters behind city buses and elsewhere.

[amitwlele]

Pune scoring higest in the walkability factor is a shocker. This itself makes me question the report.

Also not sure on what basis were the cities selected for the survey??

[srishiva]

I hope they didn't consider only the Airport road while coming up with this report The survey was for walkability index and how were the cities selected?

What does motorists not allowing pedestrians to cross the roads mean? Is it only at Zebra crossings?

Chennai scored the lowest in the overall index.

[esteem_lover]

Anything that comes out from TOI is to be taken with loads of salt. I don't believe in these surveys.

[carwatcher]

IMHO if one goes to "any" city in India, the people of that city would proudly claim about two things.
1. Hamare yahaan ki University se hopeless koi university nahin ho sakti. (No university is more hopeless than our university).
and
2. Jo hamaare shahar mein gaadi chala sakta hai, woh puri duniya mein kahin bhi gaadi chala sakta hai, kyunki hamaare yahan se bura traffic sense kahin bhi nahi hai. (If one can drive in our city, he can drive anywhere in the world).
Need one say more.
P.S.- Is there any study for sensitising of small news, ToI would walk away as champion with a big margin.

[vibbs]

What kind of road survey is this which does nt feature Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad etc.?

That said the situation is bad in Bangalore, but mainly because of the lack of infrastructure. Being someone who drives extensively both in Delhi and Bangalore, I can safely say that infrastructure wise bangalore is way behind Delhi, but in general the road manners of people are not that bad, specially compared to Delhi.
Just that it gets accentuated due to the lack of road infrastructure.

[vinair]

This seems to be another totally biased and bogus report. I believe there are far more worst cities in India when it comes to bad motorist behavior (at least going with the kind of road rage news we hear!). Bangalore has always been a peace loving and a multi-culture friendly city. Guess only TOI can highlight such good for nothing news on the front page!! But then, whats TOI without such morning masala news!!!

[AlphaKilo]

Originally Posted by carwatcher

IMHO if one goes to "any" city in India, the people of that city would proudly claim about two things.
1. Hamare yahaan ki University se hopeless koi university nahin ho sakti. (No university is more hopeless than our university).
and
2. Jo hamaare shahar mein gaadi chala sakta hai, woh puri duniya mein kahin bhi gaadi chala sakta hai, kyunki hamaare yahan se bura traffic sense kahin bhi nahi hai. (If one can drive in our city, he can drive anywhere in the world).
Need one say more.
P.S.- Is there any study for sensitising of small news, ToI would walk away as champion with a big margin.

Rightly said!
But then in general we need to be taught better road sense! not just in bangalore, but in the whole country.

[.sushilkumar]

yes, reports from times group specially needs to be taken with loads of salt . IMO Bangalore hasn;t been able to develop itself according to population growth. anyways that;s same story everywhere. Although delhi is not far behind but at least we have pedestrian foor over bridge at few places with automated stairs ,which people generally don;t avoid. I remember during my college days, yelahanka used to well outside city limits, not sure how it is now. Heard from friend that it;s more or less merged into main city now .

[sirius1845]

I have been driving in Bangalore for last 5 years and my opinion is that there is certainly a lack of disregard for pedestrian safety from a minority of motorists, however it is also a mixed bag. Bangalore is certainly not the worst in pedestrian safety.

[Ragul]

As an outsider living in Blore, I must admit, it is one of the most beautiful cities - if you learn to cycle in the by-lanes and stay away from the main roads and markets. The roads are the worst you can find anywhere in the world though. Apart form water problems and lack of Internet connectivity in "Silicon city" otherwise, nothing much to complain about.

--Rahul

[vinair]

Originally Posted by Ragul

As an outsider living in Blore, I must admit, it is one of the most beautiful cities - if you learn to cycle in the by-lanes and stay away from the main roads and markets. The roads are the worst you can find anywhere in the world though. Apart form water problems and lack of Internet connectivity in "Silicon city" otherwise, nothing much to complain about.

--Rahul

Lack of internet connectivity in Bangalore??? Are you sure buddy??? Every other notice stuck on the walls or lamp posts is that of a internet service provider!