[jkrishnakj]

By the way , I was returning home from Tirupati on the 23rd evening. I was planning to enter as early as possible and clear the dreaded ORR to reach Kanakpura NICE exit, because by memory and experience the roads are packed from 430 pm till 9 pm.

As luck would have it, I crossed Hoskote till by 5.30 and I was already worried that I’ll take ages to reach home. When I entered ORR, there is nothing. Like no traffic at all. The bollards for the dedicated bus lanes are complete. I hardly encountered any traffic. Bagmane and ECO world and Eco space were crossed in no time. The normally fully lit windows of the different IT companies that we are used to seeing were all dark.

I did feel a little bad after all.

Felt like the early 2010’s - the drive that evening at that time on ORR.

[vsrivatsa]

Originally Posted by speedmiester

More than the robbers themselves, the entire NICE road is daylight robbery in itself. It's been a year since the tag readers are installed and still they have not implemented Fastag.

I agree completely - Fastag has been long due and they seem to be avoiding it at all costs. I travelled the whole circuit yesterday from PES College Junction till Tumkur Road exit and had to manually pay and take the toll slip. They seem to have done a lot of tar based patch work in several places - the maintenance is not as good in recent times it appears.

I somehow suspect there is some vested interest in NICE Road which is preventing the Peripheral Ring Road from taking off in Bangalore as well since that would route all the trucks via the PRR itself resulting in reduced revenue for NICE Road.

[sandsun7]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Looks like that dreaded MES flyover and approach roads (near Goraguntepalya ORR) has been substantially repaired and renovated. However, the width of neither have been increased which is the real need of the hour.

https://bangaloremirror.indiatimes.c...w/79949335.cms

Yes, open since last week. It was a welcome relief for people like me who used to take this route everyday. The detour we had to take when this was closed had a big bottleneck - HMT road-pipeline road junction. Used to take 10-15 minutes to cross this junction alone!
With this repair, they seems to have addressed a fewcouple of major issues-
1. The left turn at Gorguntepalaya while coming from Tumkur road towards BEL circle, near the bus stop- The surface of the stretch there used to break down completely with even a couple of day's rain. Now this has been concreted. Hopefully this will hold on well.
2. The stretch before the up ramp of the jalahalli ROB towards BEL circle and the down ramp towards Gorguntepalaya have now been concreted. These stretches used to break down often and would lead to congestion.
3. The bridge itself has got fully resurfaced. The expansion joints are still bumpy though.

Hopefully whatever has been done proves to be a long term solution. Yes, the road gets very narrow between ALIDSA and the CQAE campuses just before the flyover begins, but I do not have any hope of the armed forces releasing land to facilitate widening there.

[shamanth]

NICE Road toll will be the only Toll Road without Fast Tag from Jan 1st. Fastag sensors were installed 1 year back but no fastag implemented with huge serpentine Q at NICE toll Booths it's creating problem to bengalurians. Need to put pressure on Govt and Nice road owner Khenny to implement fastag. I have created hashtag with series of tweets, retweet, comment and make this popular so that it reaches people in govt #Niceroadneedfastag https://twitter.com/hashtag/NICEROADNEEDFASTAG?s=08

[wildsdi5530]

Originally Posted by sandsun7

Yes, open since last week. It was a welcome relief for people like me who used to take this route everyday.

One big problem with this road is that trucks used to break down on the upslope from MES towards Gorguntaplaya on the ROB. This used to block the road leading to km long jams all the way to BEL circle. I hope the bridge itself has not been concretized leading to loss of traction.

[Nalin1]

Yesterday for the first time, I experienced the ORR decorated with those bollards for the bus 'lane'.

It is a cumbersome task to even enter the ORR with all those obstacles!.

Who ever thinks of a bus lane or any lane in India needs to get his brain removed and preserved at the British Museum.

We are the gap fillers of the world. Shutting some gaps and opening some gaps does not mean lanes .

Now people fill A, B and C gaps instead of D, E and F gaps with the added danger of those bollards around .
I wish they get smashed out of sight by a truck in the dead of the night.

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by Nalin1

Now people fill A, B and C gaps instead of D, E and F gaps with the added danger of those bollards

Actually these bollards are quite flexible. You can kick them out of your way if you are on a two wheeler and they come back to position. So in case of an emergency, dont worry

[AtheK]

Kolar highway was crowded beyond belief today, this is the first time in 5 years I experienced a traffic jam on kolar highway. I presume it is because of the long weekend coming to an end, bangalore traffic is back with vengeance.

[QuadraticAmoeba]

More white topping going on at the Outer Ring Road near Horamavu / Babusapalya. The flyover is closed and traffic is diverted on the service road / middle road. We got stuck there one evening two Saturdays ago and took an hour to cross that stretch. Last Saturday, it seems one side is done and the other side is remaining. Just as I was feeling happy, I came across this article:

Bangalore Mirror: White topping picks up from where it left off

Looks like all commutes to my parents' house (east Bangalore to north Bangalore) have to be done early morning or later in the night, especially on weekends.

[mav2000]

I dont know if this would be the right thread to post this in, but today, the traffic police towed my car from a road which has no "No Parking" signs at all. The reasoning is that it was a main road and there was VIP movement.

I argued with them on this for more than an hour and also called the inspector in charge of the station as he was not there at the time. But to no avail. I was forced to pay the fine of Rs. 2000 for towing charges and wrong parking, irrespective of the fact that there was no sign to the contrary.

As per the ASI, parking is not allowed on main roads, even if there is no "No Parking" sign.

And this was on the road opposite to Sheshadripuram college.If any of you know the area well, there are innumerable no parking signs on the road on which the college is, but not a single one on the opposite road.

I dont know what is going on and if I should bother with making a complaint on this issue.

[dark.knight]

I've written about this issue before, but this thing still bothers me and it bothers me even more that it bothers no one else so I shall discuss it. There is a thread in this section that has gained traction greatly, it is about LED/HID high intensity bulbs spoiling visibility on the streets, but there is a secondary aspect to this that people do not discuss, specific ONLY to Bengaluru, the Silly-Con city+Garbage City :

Street lights, one may have heard of it, it used to be a thing in Bengaluru before, most towns and some villages have it too. Why does BBMP pretend to be doing anything for our city, when they cant even overlook functions of street-lighting and dance to the tunes of the draconian forces of evil, the military?

Yes, in the Olde Bangalore, the British controlled town, Bangalore was very much an army outpost, a training town for the army and it was chosen due to its climate and location, but Bangalore has grown since the 90's and how, I remember all roads bordering the ASC were well lit even then, today every road remotely touching army land in prime city areas, are dark, and I mean pitch black, why this secrecy all of a sudden? Is there an Area 51 in Bengaluru that I don't know of? Or are the armed guards secretly discussing how to usurp the country like they did during the lockdown? Its disturbing to read words like "Trespassers will be SHOT" on walls when travelling in the city center.

Bangalore is considered a tier-1 city now, the army has absolutely no room to be had here, let alone almost 10,000+ acres of prime city land, which could otherwise have been made to create a Manhattan/Toronto district skyline (army lands aren't lung spaces, no wildlife can thrive there, they are killed or thrown out and trees aren't tended to at all). Let me name the roads which are pitch black due to these people :

- Old Airport Road (prime city center, a pathway for more than half the vehicle population as it connects Domlur, Koramangala, Indiranagar, HSR and all IT hubs thereafter.
- Inner Ring Road
- Parts of Outer Ring Road
- Parts of North Bengaluru
- Parts of Whitefield/Sarjapur Road

I think its about time these lands are lifted and be made part of the city, the army can very well go to Greater Bengaluru like Bidadi/Ramnagara, or maybe ever further to some tier 3 village than squat on prime city space, and worse, dictate terms to the BBMP on streetlights, one look at a city like Mumbai which has super-bright streets are 2 am in the night, ALL OVER, and one wonders why Bangalore which had good street-lighting in the 90's, suddenly has gone dark, stray animals and motorists are in grave danger on such streets, connecting essential areas. If I ask anyone the usual "adjesht maadi" attitude comes up, no one miffed or baffled, at all?

[Sebring]

I have been raising this with few of my friends for years now, and they just silence me by saying it's because of army I exist (and similar such arguments). Their eyes are closed. Army has no business in cities' prime land. They say its a great green space, (But numerous buildings are coming up within). But on second thoughts, what happens to these lands, if acquired by a builder? You'll only see more concrete blocks with very less public amenities. More greed on display. So let things be, I guess

Originally Posted by dark.knight

Bangalore is considered a tier-1 city now, the army has absolutely no room to be had here, let alone almost 10,000+ acres of prime city land

[am1m]

Originally Posted by dark.knight

I remember all roads bordering the ASC were well lit even then, today every road remotely touching army land in prime city areas, are dark, and I mean pitch black

Actually, I didn't realize that the bad lighting in those areas was because of proximity to any defense areas. I just assumed that it was good old BBMP neglect as normal. Even for security purposes, wouldn't it be better to have bright lights outside?

Originally Posted by dark.knight

...let alone almost 10,000+ acres of prime city land, which could otherwise have been made to create a Manhattan/Toronto district skyline (army lands aren't lung spaces, no wildlife can thrive there, they are killed or thrown out and trees aren't tended to at all).

Interesting point, never thought about that, always assumed that those were lung spaces, but yeah, have seen several buildings come up in those formerly empty spaces too.

But even then, I'd certainly agree with this point:

Originally Posted by Sebring

But on second thoughts, what happens to these lands, if acquired by a builder? You'll only see more concrete blocks with very less public amenities. More greed on display. So let things be, I guess

This is exactly what will happen- the private builders like Prestige, RMZ, et al will make an even bigger mess and there will be even more traffic and even less open space if they somehow get their hands on that land. So better not wish for that! Just look at the contrast between the 'IT Zones' like Bellandur and the CBD.

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by dark.knight

Bangalore is considered a tier-1 city now, the army has absolutely no room to be had here, let alone almost 10,000+ acres of prime city land, which could otherwise have been made to create a Manhattan/Toronto district skyline (army lands aren't lung spaces, no wildlife can thrive there, they are killed or thrown out and trees aren't tended to at all). Let me name the roads which are pitch black due to these people :

- Old Airport Road (prime city center, a pathway for more than half the vehicle population as it connects Domlur, Koramangala, Indiranagar, HSR and all IT hubs thereafter.
- Inner Ring Road
- Parts of Outer Ring Road
- Parts of North Bengaluru
- Parts of Whitefield/Sarjapur Road

I think its about time these lands are lifted and be made part of the city, the army can very well go to Greater Bengaluru like Bidadi/Ramnagara, or maybe ever further to some tier 3 village than squat on prime city space,?

I beg to differ, thanks to the military held areas, we have a lot of greenery and heritage buildings would be preserved.

If these lands were taken over by a professional town planning body with a strong environmental respect, I would agree with you. Considering the current body of builders, government etc. Forget it. From my 14th floor office, one can see how ugly Bangalore has become.

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by dark.knight

I've written about this issue before, but this thing still bothers me and it bothers me even more that it bothers no one else so I shall discuss it.

.. Bangalore has grown since the 90's and how, I remember all roads bordering the ASC were well lit even then, today every road remotely touching army land in prime city areas, are dark, and I mean pitch black, why this secrecy all of a sudden? Is there an Area 51 in Bengaluru that I don't know of? Or are the armed guards secretly discussing how to usurp the country like they did during the lockdown?

Thank you for your rant, respected sir, but let me call it absurd and over exaggerated to make a good essay at most. Why so? Trying to blame the military for lack of street lights? Every road irrespective of whether it is in a BDA layout or a Military is under the maintenance of the BBMP who is responsible for street lights and other maintenance. Its funny to think that the Army will prevent BBMP from installing a streetlight and they like to live in darkness and talk about an Area 51.

Perhaps, earlier the compounds would have their own lights aimed towards the footpath in some places and this was removed. But if a street is dark, then thats because there are no streetlights and thats not the responsibility of the Armed forces. The other reason these areas look dark is due to the fact that many streets in Bangalore are lit up by shopfronts more than streetlights and thats absent in these areas. Hence they are dark and gloomy.

Originally Posted by dark.knight

Its disturbing to read words like "Trespassers will be SHOT" on walls when travelling in the city center.

To be honest I have never even bothered to read these warnings when travelling in the city center. And neither do I intend to trespass into a military compound to be disturbed about being shot. I think nowhere in the world it is appreciated to jump into a high security compound and still enjoy a dinner inside before returning home.

Originally Posted by dark.knight

Bangalore is considered a tier-1 city now, the army has absolutely no room to be had here, let alone almost 10,000+ acres of prime city land, which could otherwise have been made to create a Manhattan/Toronto district skyline (army lands aren't lung spaces, no wildlife can thrive there, they are killed or thrown out and trees aren't tended to at all).

Request you to see the picture below:

I am not sure what your definition of a lung space is. But in the whole map, wherever you spot green, that's a defense land/PSU/Govt/water body. If not for this space, then I am sure HAL Airport/Indiranagar area would be swallowed in pollution from the non planned/congested areas around here. Instead of this, if these lands were left for development, I am sure it would be the next Whitefield of Bangalore and again we would have ranted about traffic around HAL Airport road, Ejipura IRR, as if the current mess isnt enough. That area cannot bear the burden of one tech Park(Bagmane) and we speak about Manhattan. If so, then the whole of Koramangala, Domlur, Jeevanbhimanagar have to be remodelled to support enough road connectivity to this fancy district we talk about.