[balenoed_]

Originally Posted by hemanth.anand

4. Putting their hand out of the window when they decide to barge into the other lane where there is a vehicle already

I hardly see this. I would be happy if they at least do that.

[am1m]

Morning traffic towards the 'IT Corridor' black spot of Bellandur/ORR was surprisingly good for a Monday morning. Holi holiday effect or Coronavirus-stay-at-home effect?

[OrangeCar]

I had to recently visit Brisbane over work. This was my second visit there. And of all the places I have visited, the city of Brisbane made me feel like it was Bengaluru. Especially remidning me of the days of 90s. And had Bengaluru kept pace in infrastructure (basic infra and nothing fancy), we would have been a much better city to live in. Sadly that is not the case.

I happened to write something on it. Brisbane: A city that Bengaluru could have been.

@Mods: If inappropriate, please delete.

[am1m]

Originally Posted by OrangeCar

And had Bengaluru kept pace in infrastructure (basic infra and nothing fancy), we would have been a much better city to live in. Sadly that is not the case.

There's no doubt that our city has not kept up in terms of basic infra. But population density too affects quality of life in a massive way. 12,000/km2 versus 155/km2 makes a huge difference.

Forget Bangalore and Brisbane, I spent the weekend in one of the nicer parts of Jayanagar. South Bangalore is not my usual beat, still a bit alien to me, having grown up and worked in the eastern and central parts of the city for the most part. Was thinking what was it about that part of Jayanagar that made it pretty peaceful (though my friends who grew up there say it's becoming worse) compared to where I stay (New Tippasandra). It came down to 3 things IMHO- clear separation between residential and commercial zones, more independent houses rather than apartment blocks/3-5-floor residential units in small plots, and basically fewer people.

PS: I want to clarify that I'm NOT one of those who thinks we should dictate who should and should not move to a particular city. But overall, we need to think in terms of de-congesting cities for better quality of life. Satellite towns connected by quick public transport, things like that.

[nagr22]

Originally Posted by am1m

It came down to 3 things IMHO- clear separation between residential and commercial zones, more independent houses rather than apartment blocks/3-5-floor residential units in small plots, and basically fewer people.

Adding to the above points, South Bangalore also has fantastically planned parallel and perpendicular roads which ensures that there are umpteen combination of roads to reach a destination thereby reducing traffic bottlenecks.
Whereas in the eastern part of Bangalore esp. Whitefield area has umpteen number of wide roads all merging onto a single main road making only one way to reach from point A to B. If that one main road is blocked, all hell breaks loose
The attached screenshots illustrate my point.

[srvm]

Originally Posted by am1m

.....Was thinking what was it about that part of Jayanagar that made it pretty peaceful (though my friends who grew up there say it's becoming worse) compared to where I stay (New Tippasandra). It came down to 3 things IMHO- clear separation between residential and commercial zones, more independent houses rather than apartment blocks/3-5-floor residential units in small plots, and basically fewer people.
.....

Hi am1m, Since you live in New Thippasandra, can you shed some light on whats going on in 80ft road in the last 1-2 weeks? Has the white-topping extended now beyond Pressto and up to BSNL junction? Must be a nightmare to even enter New Thippasandra main road from 80 ft road
My wife says that buses coming from Jeevanbhima nagar main road now take left onto 12th Main from 80ft road! Is traffic blocked in this direction and compulsory left turn?

[adnaps]

Traffic congestion at Budhigere on Whitefield Airport Road due village festival. Plan for 30min delay. Vehicles are being diverted through narrow village roads.

[hemanth.anand]

Originally Posted by am1m

Was thinking what was it about that part of Jayanagar that made it pretty peaceful (though my friends who grew up there say it's becoming worse)

Originally Posted by nagr22

Adding to the above points, South Bangalore also has fantastically planned parallel and perpendicular roads which ensures that there are umpteen combination of roads to reach a destination thereby reducing traffic bottlenecks.
Whereas in the eastern part of Bangalore esp. Whitefield area has umpteen number of wide roads all merging onto a single main road making only one way to reach from point A to B. If that one main road is blocked, all hell breaks loose
The attached screenshots illustrate my point.

We must thank Sir M. Vishweshwarayya for this. He was the one who designed and planned the entire area of Jayanagar in 1959.It was one of first planned neighbourhoods in Bengaluru and at the time, supposedly the largest in Asia.
What I make of it is that SirMV designed it with the only intention of making it simple, good and functional that should last for years. He had not with the intention of making money.
am1m your friends are absolutely right, it's getting worse...that separation of commercial and residential areas is vanishing and slowly all the residential buildings are being converted into commercial spaces. It is still better than many newer areas of Bengaluru but people like me who have seen it at it's best feel sad!

[msdivy]

Originally Posted by am1m

It came down to 3 things IMHO- clear separation between residential and commercial zones, more independent houses rather than apartment blocks/3-5-floor residential units in small plots, and basically fewer people.

Another major reason is ORR doesn't pass via Jayanagar. ORR between Banashanshari & Silkboard is one of the busiest sections and it just scrapes Jayanagar (East end to Sangam circle). Entire Jayanagar falls to one side of ORR. No IT parks, no mega malls & not many commercial establishments compared to areas is keeping Jayanagar less congested.

Originally Posted by nagr22

Whereas in the eastern part of Bangalore esp. Whitefield area has umpteen number of wide roads all merging onto a single main road making only one way to reach from point A to B. If that one main road is blocked, all hell breaks loose

Whitefield is amalgam to hundreds of small & large villages, which were swallowed by Bangalore city. One day, these villages found themselves within BBMP boundary and suddenly saw an explosion of vehicles in their narrow winding roads. Just because they are within city limits, they can't change their characters overnight.

BTW, whats with traffic junctions in South Bangalore? BBMP is digging up tar road & laying tiles in these junctions. Are they safe, durable?
Another pet peeve of BBMP is to remove perfectly fine footpath tiles and replace them with newer ones. Also, tar again already good roads. I have seen this happening frequently in south Bangalore.

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by msdivy

One day, these villages found themselves within BBMP boundary and suddenly saw an explosion of vehicles in their narrow winding roads. Just because they are within city limits, they can't change their characters overnight.-0

Exactly. Whoever I meet who complain about Bangalore issues taking the case of Whitefield or ORR, I tell these people that those areas arent Bangalore at all. They were just forced to become Bangalore by a few greedy people who wanted to become rich overnight encashing the IT boom. What pains me most is that these are the same people who now live in these areas totally ignorant of the poor conditions they live in, such as the horrible traffic snarls, lack of cleanliness, what not. If my own area was riddled with problems, then the residents would drag the politicians or whoever is responsible and get things fixed at the earliest. At least the mess in South Bangalore is less even though we too have suffered the white topping and drainage scam. The main difference as many have highlighted is a presence of superb road network. If there is one road blocked, there are enough parallel roads to take the load of traffic.
Thats not the case in and around my Whitefield office. We have limited roads as alternatives in case the primary road is blocked. Upon that, the people still live in the stone age and make laws on their own. Case in support is a shortcut around Hoodi circle towards Whitefield. There was a road which would help vehicles take a left turn coming from Hoodi flyover towards Zuri. Since this road got popular, residents did not like it. They first dug the road up and left it like that for a few months. Then they installed poles to restrict use only to two wheelers. When that wasnt enough, they have blocked the road again. Not sure what sort of affairs runs in these areas. Had these people been more selfless, they could have worked with the government to improve alternate roads and made things better for both themselves as well as commuters. Sadly that never happened all these years and instead we just saw more and more apartments and PGs stuffed in the tiniest of places. Looks like they are happy counting rent every month and growing their stash. Not even sure if they will survive long enough to enjoy that when their living conditions are so bad. I am sure people living or originating from these areas might find it offensive, but thats the sad truth which cant be buried.

[Red Liner]

What the hell is going on at the Manyata junction? There’s some middle of the road work going on for the past few months and I can’t see any progress of what the hell it is!

[am1m]

Originally Posted by srvm

can you shed some light on whats going on in 80ft road in the last 1-2 weeks?

It's been going on for a few months now. They've sort of finished the white topping on one side of the road and have started their messing up of the other side. I'm sorry I can't be more specific, but I've been avoiding that road. I think I remember the white topping disease is still at the Pressto area and not spread to the BSNL junction yet.

Originally Posted by audioholic

I am sure people living or originating from these areas might find it offensive, but thats the sad truth which cant be buried.

A lot of good points, but just want to state here that I never meant for this to become a "'South Bangalore' versus 'Other Bangalore'" thing and I certainly hope it doesn't. For better or worse, we're all within 'BBMP limits' now, we ALL pay our taxes, and the city as a whole needs to improve.

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by am1m

A lot of good points, but just want to state here that I never meant for this to become a "'South Bangalore' versus 'Other Bangalore'" thing and I certainly hope it doesn't.

Nope, lets not make it Geographical of course . We could rather call it planned Bangalore v/s Unplanned Bangalore. Planned Bangalore also includes some very nice areas in the center, North as well as west. Its just the area beyond the ORR and a few other unplanned areas that is in a mess.

[daretodream]

Today I experienced something never before in last 4 years of commuting between HSR and Yeshwantpur.
At 7:30 PM, Hosur road had standstill traffic from Adugodi signal all the way upto Forum. It wasn't as bad even during white-topping days. No breakdown. No parked vehicle. Just every inch of road occupied with vehicles. It felt like the entire city is leaving to escape Corona virus.

[wildsdi5530]

Originally Posted by am1m

Morning traffic towards the 'IT Corridor' black spot of Bellandur/ORR was surprisingly good for a Monday morning. Holi holiday effect or Coronavirus-stay-at-home effect?

Probably due to the block at Gorguntapalya. Alisda to Nagwara was completely free at 0800. Opposite side was jammed though.