[lohithrao]

Well i guess this city was planned so well that even if all the tress are cut they can get couple of feet and that would hardly do any good.

In so many areas they had done the same but it did not make any difference.

To make a big difference we need a robust system/plan in place and the people to be sensible but both of these looks to be not more then a dream so in this scenario, solving Bangalore traffic chaos is very much a "rocket science"

Originally Posted by ashwinsid

But where do you have space for constructing roads? If we have to build roads, tracks, we have to cut trees and demolish buildings. But everyone along with media shout that oh they cut the trees. Now how is it possible that one wants wide roads AND no tree to be cut?

This thing always makes me angry when I read it on paper

[Nitin]

Originally Posted by anekho

I've always wondered why multilevel parking lots are still so scarce in India. I mean it's the perfect solution to so many of our traffic related problems!
I hope the metro will be as good as I hope it will be

True. If any place really needs multilevel parking facilities, its got to be India.The best way to make use of limited space is to have a bunch of such buildings around each major city,and that should take care of most of the parking needs & easen the traffic situation.Atleast to some extent,IMO.

Originally Posted by lohithrao

To make a big difference we need a robust system/plan in place and the people to be sensible but both of these looks to be not more then a dream so in this scenario, solving Bangalore traffic chaos is very much a "rocket science"

I would think- get a bunch of IIT students to plan things for the Karnataka Govt, and work on B'lore as a model. Trust me, this is far more than rocket science we'r dealing with. If fixing B'lore wasn't tough enough, we've got a wonderful Govt to deal with, as well as the Police system.If either one was efficient,we'd be far away from the current senario.

[mooza]

Instead of spending enormous funds on the widening of entire stretches of roads for several kilometres, I feel that the focus should be more on the junctions and traffic signal areas. After all, how many of the jams occur on the long stetches between signals. Hardly any.

But if we see the signals and junctions, there are obviously huge pile ups.

Flyovers might help.

But even before putting up these flyovers at a huge cost, I think certain low cost measures have been overlooked. These are :

At the signals and junctions -
1. Ensure excellent road quality, without a single pothole or bump, for smooth traffic flow. Not even one of our junctions can boast of this.
2. Ensure no speed breakers near signals.
3. Ensure no bus stops and auto stands near junctions.
4. Install Traffic density dependent signalling systems, synchronised with other signals.
5. Install pedestrian overbridges (with escalators to encourage use).

I feel the above low cost measures need to be implemented fully, before even thinking of high cost measures like flyovers and road widening, which only make contractors happy.

[amitoj]

I read the words "Traffic Mess" and I just knew it had to be about Bangalore.

By the way, yesterday i heard they are going to build an underpass at the Nagwara signal on ORR. Main road will be closed. All traffic will be diverted to service lanes. Enjoy!!

[wildon]

The Bangalore Traffic Police or the responsible authority doesn't have any vision.
I found some Police men are very good, but majority are useless when controlling traffic. The BMTC Bus drivers/ Auto drivers/ Cabs/ Motor cyclists and some others are doesn't care about the traffic situation or who controls its as they enjoy breaking the rules.

The moment you see the amber light at signal junction, u bet all the two wheelers would come at the center for a huddle from different sides.

Bad drivers,Bad maintenance of roads, Stops at the edge of the Turn, Signals, So many left/right turns on roads creates more of these problems too.

[alpha1]

There are few traffic engg rules, which our Indian authorities somehow manager to overlook while building plans.

One simple example: suppose there are two roads running parallel, when they join: the place where they join should be atleast sum of those two roads, or more.
This is to ensure that the traffic which redistributes after merging, do not slow down and cause a domino effect.

How many places do we see this?
Nearly all the merge points are at most as wide as one of the roads, and is usually narrower.


Then again lets take case of traffic circles:
The purpose of traffic circles is to eliminate the red lights.
How? It ensures that everyone moves in a clockwise direction, so there are no intersecting routes.
For this to hold true - your traffic circle radius should be much greater than the road width.
However, most of the traffic circles are so small, that vehicles come perpendicular to each other - thus slowing down everyone.

There are countless such scenarios - which I see in daily life ...

[hitansh]

Couldn't have agreed more. Junction management is one of the most effective for traffic management yet most overlooked in Bangalore. Vehicles waiting to turn left spill over to right most lanes blocking the movement in right lanes and vice versa. I found the junctions in Delhi to be better designed atleast in the areas that I usually visit. There would be a small traffic island which would guide the left lane traffic. Once you are committed to left lane you cannot go back into the right lane. Similarly you cannot pile up on the right side of the traffic island and then try to turn left.

[bbkp]

Worst of all, ensure that no one parks their vehicles near a junction - It really puts me off when immediately after negotiating a turn, you need to contend a parked vehicle - Really puts me off.

[Blue_V]

Autos always make it a point to stop near the junction.

[mooza]

Here in Bangalore at a place called Domlur, exactly at the merging point of a prominent left turn with a flyover downramp (leading to Koramangala), there is a bustop .

The round-the-clock chaos everyday at this place can only be imagined ! The very purpose of spending crores of public money on a flyover has been defeated

A similar situation (further on the same road) exists at 2 traffic junctions. So much so that when people buy bus tickets asking for Ejipura junction, Sony world junction etc. the bus drivers take the meaning literally and stop exactly at these signals, causing mindless traffic pile ups. I have already sent an e-mail to the Traffic authorities 6 months ago, to shift the bus stops further down the road, but to no avail. Does anyone here on this forum know as to how we could have a say in this, and get these suggestions incorporated ? I am thinking of using our residents association for this, but I don't know if it will help.

Also, several passengers of autorickshaws and BPO cabs contribute to chaos by requesting drivers to drop them at this corner, or that intersection (I have seen this happen on umpteen occasions !). These things have to addressed in a "traffic discipline" subject from schooling itself, and also by increased awareness through print and visual media. and strict enforcement.

[mkh]

There is a lot to blame on poor management and infra- esp on OMR before the road bifurcates towards ulsoor lake,the road has completely caved in and the traffic jams are bad to say the least as traffic moves slowly over the non existent road! On TOP of this, the govt wants more tax, 100% crooks. Nowhere around the country do people steal and not do the work, like here!
Another BIG factor- the way we behave on roads, as if its a jungle. Rules need to be enforced like in China for a while. 1000 Rs fine- no questions asked for willful signal jumps( no mistakes) and on the 3rd offence within a period say 6 months- license cancelled and vehicle confiscated.
The ONLY way to get people to follow rules in india- instill fear of huge fines.
That way we have idiots at bay and sanity in behavior on roads.

[alpha1]

^ you know, actually we indians have been raised by totalitarian regimes (at our homes, societies) that we conveniently forget to use our own brains, and always look towards a guiding authority.

I have now come to conclusion that its because of our upbringing we need a stick/carrot in every aspect of life that deals with public interactions - govt, traffic, hygiene and cleanliness etc There is no concept of greater good in our masses.

[SantoshPV]

For long I have dreaded the thought of traveling on my own to work due to the traffic jams in Bangalore city, was fortunate to have company transport for 6.5 years. Post joining another company I had to travel on my own. Realized would have to find out alternate routes to reach office since the regular route through the Outer Ring Road would be a waste of fuel & time & would be a case study for anyone interested in designing traffic jam free roads & bridges. The alternate route was about 3kms longer but didn't mind it as I was saving quite some time & would also be easier on my car & bike.

One day, I found a strange way to keep myself occupied during my 33kms one way commute to work during peak hours. I counted the number of humps that I had to cross one way & I counted 51, my next plan is to count the number of potholes that my back has to take which is a humongous task for sure, then the number of times I hear someone using the horns & so on. Music is a great companion & this counting adds fun or maybe I'm just losing my mind..

Below is a collection of everyday scenarios or challenges(traffic jam) that I'm sure we all face..
One of the things that compounds things further is the fact that most vehicle users lose civility when stuck in a jam. Drivers are largely unaware of the driving line that the vehicle in front is taking (let say I'm driving in the front), but the instant I put on the indicator to change lanes, the vehicle behind knows what I'm about to do & makes sure that I don't change lanes as though his life depended on it, he may perform some suicidal manoeuvre to ensure he gets into the lane that I wanted to be in. Then there are vehicles that go behind local buses & for sure know where the bus stops are & have sufficient time to change lanes but still stick behind the buses & on reaching the stop, they simply cut into the next lane without any indicators & with scant regard to the vehicle already in that lane. The same goes for the local buses, almost had a brush once when a bus suddenly decided to cut into my lane with no indication whatsoever. Or if in a traffic jam, the vehicle in front wants to change lanes & I allow him to do that, I get a honk from the vehicle behind chastising me for my deed.

There is this category of drivers who honk for no reason or honk when the signal light changes from red to green as if the rest of them are blind or they think they are the self appointed signalsman upon whose honking the rest of them should start (not applicable to the ones who have already gone through the red signal because there was no policeman in sight). Once the signal turns green, there are many who showcase their vehicle's acceleration timings, only to be stopped at the next signal.

The other day, I had no clue that a car behind me wanted to overtake, he cut in front of me & I noticed his head was in a strange angle, he was actually speaking on his mobile & changing gears & what not, then right in front of me he went on to execute a suicidal overtaking of the local transport bus only to get stuck in the next signal 1 minute later where I parked next to him. What was the point of all these overtaking manoeuvres when I too reached the same point in the same time, did he save a precious few seconds? No, but again he may have gone through the signal if he was faster, then what he saves maybe 1 or 2 minutes. Is the risk worth the saving in time? I only hope these guys realize..

Then there are days when you find a huge line of vehicles going real slow & if you happen to reach the front (only possible when riding a bike or if in a car by constantly changing lanes), there probably would be 2 heavily laden trucks (mostly beyond their load carrying capacities), one traveling at 30kph (maybe) & the other one trying to overtake it at 32kph, thus holding back the rest of the line. Another reason for such huge lines would be an empty autorickshaw, the driver not bothered about the rest of the world (the traffic behind him) & looking for somebody to call him for a journey or 2 autorickshaws, one broken down & the other one pushing the first one & how. The 2nd driver thrusting his leg out & pushing the 1st autorickshaw from the back with his leg, ingenious Indian mind at work. Bus stops are invariably positioned immediately after a traffic signal which really inconveniences others.

Then there are days you're stuck in a huge jam near the KR Puram railway station & you inch slowly though the traffic & 4 out of 10 times you invariably find an antique truck fully loaded with either the drive shaft broken or the bonnet open (maybe the clutch gave way due to the stop-go traffic or the engine overheated). Add to this trucks parked on one side of the road as well.

The amazing design of the hanging bridge at KR Puram railway station & the road below needs to be amazed at (am lost for words). For sure some great transport engineers or some big firm must have been paid an obscene amount of money (the tax payers money - our money) to design that bridge & the roads below & what do we get? A wide road which converges below the bridge, now anybody can tell you that this design is a sure shot recipe for disaster (read traffic jam). Can anything be done there to avoid the traffic jam just like the flyover & underpass constructions all over the outer ring road from Hebbal to KR Puram (better late than never) ?

Then there are the wannabe Valentino Rossis who perform antics which definitely will make your heart skip a beat. They weave in & out of traffic with very little gap being maintained with the vehicle in the front, do breakneck speeds endangering their lives as well as others (of course with due respects to all & not questioning anybody's driving skills).

I remember way back in 2004 when I was returning back home from a holiday in Singapore, we were in a taxi at 4:30am & the driver stopped at a red signal when there were absolutely no vehicles on the road. I was amazed at the driver's respect for the law when I saw a superbike who had the green signal zooming past at a high speed on the road perpendicular to ours. If the driver hadn't stopped at the red signal, the bike would have surely crashed into the taxi. Over here I wouldn't have the courage to go anything above 20kph at an intersection even if I had the green signal for fear of someone from the other side jumping the signal. I guess we are moulded into the "swalpa adjust maadi" culture (which means "its ok" or "chalta hai" attitude).

At times I think, will this ever change or will this be the way of life for us. Can I as an individual do something to reduce traffic congestion? I surely cannot change the way others ride/drive, but I ensure that I follow traffic rules & respect all vehicles on the road regardless of size or speed & always follow the rule "after you" with others on the road.

I realised something, my patience level has increased for sure.
Thoughts anyone?

[ajmat]

Great post Santosh.
I wonder:
If the BBMP spent money on repairing the road.
The government double the number of policemen and their salaries
Enforce strict rules and be merciless - suspend licences, seize unsafe cars etc.
Replan bus stops and junctions

It would actually reduce half the need for widening roads.

It all starts with education.Ideally, everyone needs to relearn but who will bell the cat

[mooza]

Strict enforcement of rules and extracting the best out of the existing infrastructure should always be the topmost priority of authorities.

But for the powers that be, somehow this is not as interesting as submitting proposals, getting approval and executing huge multi crore contracts like road widening, flyovers and the like, and coming out with full page ads announcing the same.

This is the reason that infrastructure always grows, but maximisation of their utility does not, I guess.