[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

I’m guessing they will force all North-bound traffic whether to Yelahanka or KIAL (or anywhere north like HYD), to take the Hennur or Nagawara or any other turnoffs well before Hebbal.

Quoting myself here: BTP have finally clarified their intent to direct all northbound traffic into the various right turns well before Hebbal.
https://indianexpress.com/article/ci...ction-9682347/

[binand]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

BTP have finally clarified their intent to direct all northbound traffic into the various right turns well before Hebbal.

Oh man... this all sound ominous. I have four flights from now till end of the year. Should I default to driving via Ulsoor > Jayamahal Road > Mehkri circle > CBI to get to the airport? Or bite the bullet and take the STRR via Whitefield-Hoskote? I don't particularly like the Bagalur or Budigere routes because of (comparatively) bad roads and lonely commute.

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by binand

Should I default to driving via Ulsoor > Jayamahal Road > Mehkri circle > CBI to get to the airport?

I'd say stick to the above. All this is partly designed to make direct north-south ingress and egress easier, which is suspiciously also the route most politicians follow.

[shankar.balan]

Just a set of observations after a trip to Kerala.

I went around Kottayam, Changanassery, Mundakayam, Kuttikanam and Cochin and so on between Friday and yesterday.

This was with a number of classmates in a big double rear wheeled tempo.

Last month I also had occasion to drive my EV to Wyanaad and back.

And my simple observations based on these visits.
1. No litter on the roads, and no over flowing garbage cans, even near eateries and tea shops.
2. No potholes and broken surfaces whether on the highways, country roads, hill roads AND in the towns and cities.
3. No chaotic traffic and wrong side driving.
4. No ‘helmet-free’ riders.
5. No bad behaviour by road users, motorists, bikers, scooterists and buses and lorries too.
6. People seem to have greater pride in their surroundings.
7. There seems to be a certain accountability to each other.
8. The Uber cab which my classmate and I used from Marine Drive In Cochin to Nedumbassery last evening was a squeaky clean, nice smelling Honda City, with a polite friendly driver.

By contrast, in each and every one of these aspects listed above, our Karnataka State, especially the city of Bendakalooru, even in these modern times, seems to be particularly primitive, totally lawless and uncivilised.

The ‘authorities’ here really need to learn a lesson.
This is probably best taught to them by way of an exodus of corporates and professionals from this state to other states.

These politicians and vested interests and hate-mongers, will need to lose big-time, in order for them to realise and perhaps make amends, to look after common tax paying citizens.

[sumathindra]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

By contrast, in each and every one of these aspects listed above, our Karnataka State, especially the city of Bendakalooru, even in these modern times, seems to be particularly primitive, totally lawless and uncivilized. These politicians and vested interests and hate-mongers, will need to lose big-time, in order for them to realize and perhaps make amends, to look after common tax paying citizens.

Bangaluru was never like this. I remember driving my 2 wheeler in the late 90's and early 2K, the traffic was still manageable and there was some civic/traffic sense in people. This nightmare has begun probably 15 years back. One of the biggest contributors is the influx and ever increasing vehicles on the road with probably a frugal public transportation alternative. Hope this is corrected before it becomes a one way street with no return!

[am1m]

Originally Posted by sumathindra

Bangaluru was never like this. I remember driving my 2 wheeler in the late 90's and early 2K, the traffic was still manageable and there was some civic/traffic sense in people.

Nostalgia is fine, but this is just inaccurate. (And tends to blame shift to the more recent entrants to the city.) I was born in Bangalore, learned to drive and ride in the 90s. Before that I remember my mom driving us around in the 80s.

The auto guys were always thugs, enough rule breaking was happening, road rage too. Just that the number of vehicles was much, much lower, including public transport buses. So those of us who were lucky enough to have vehicles back then, had it good and felt that it was a golden era.

The primary fault is with the government for not planning and creating better infra, including better public transport. Standing by and watching as every neighborhood sees blatant violations of building and zoning regulations. And with the traffic police for not enforcing road rules. Enforce already existing zoning and traffic laws mercilessly for a generation and watch the change.

The fault is not just with the recent numbers of vehicles. And even with that, the fault is with all of us, old and new residents. Why do we buy vehicles when there is no parking at home. Why do we park on the road just because we are too lazy to walk a little bit more to the restaurant/shop. Finally, when there was a great chance recently to implement remote work for the IT companies, the biggest contributor to the most notorious jams in the city, most of us agreed with management (who are least affected by traffic) to say that our colleagues can't be trusted to work remote, let's jam up again in our IT parks! (Much to the joy of the big builders who do so much every day to ruin the city, in collusion with the politicians.)

And so we continue with the mess and the rants.

[binand]

Originally Posted by am1m

Nostalgia is fine, but this is just inaccurate.

The numbered points 1-8 about roads and driving in Kerala are inaccurate too, as long-time residents of the state will vouch.

[KrisTvpm]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Just a set of observations after a trip to Kerala.

I went around Kottayam, Changanassery, Mundakayam, Kuttikanam and Cochin and so on between Friday and yesterday.
<snip>
And my simple observations based on these visits.
1. No litter on the roads, and no over flowing garbage cans, even near eateries and tea shops.
2. No potholes and broken surfaces whether on the highways, country roads, hill roads AND in the towns and cities.
3. No chaotic traffic and wrong side driving.
4. No ‘helmet-free’ riders.
5. No bad behaviour by road users, motorists, bikers, scooterists and buses and lorries too.
6. People seem to have greater pride in their surroundings.
7. There seems to be a certain accountability to each other.
8. The Uber cab which my classmate and I used from Marine Drive In Cochin to Nedumbassery last evening was a squeaky clean, nice smelling Honda City, with a polite friendly driver.

<snip>

This might have something to do with the specific locality(ies) you visited.

Just back from a week-long trip to Thiruvanantapuram; almost NONE of the points numbered above hold good there! There's apparently some sort of project they call "smart city/smart roads" and it's a cruel joke on the taxpayers , for the major arterial roads & bylanes in city are getting incrementally worse by the day.

And for the records, have lived in various parts of KL during my school/college days, can see only the no. of vehicles going up north like crazy + quality of roads/road-users going down south unto chaos!

[Sensible_Speed]

Bangalore roadscapes change drastically based on where you are in the city. One of the biggest observation I made, was that people in the CBD, irrespective of what they drive, slow down for a pedestrian if they see one. This was surprising and heartwarming, all the same, to witness. But, the minute you hit the 'burbs, you as a pedestrian become the target. Vehicles speed up when they spot the stray pedestrian, trying to cross the road. I would liken it to a wildebeest, trying to cross a crocodile infested river. You just dive in, and leap and bound and pray and hope, that no one takes you out. Coming from Indiranagar, it was a shock to me when the meek Creta driver locked target onto me and sped up, when I tried to cross the Nagarbhavi Junction to get to my university. The entrance to NLS is the most perilous as it arrives quite unexpectedly after a blind curve and you've to plead with the auto-driver to make the u-turn, so you don't have to gazelle your way across into campus.

[sachinpk]

Yesterday (26th Nov), I found road traffic to be quite less. Especially during my return journey from Bannerghatta Road to Electronics City side via Silk Board & Elevated Highway. Was there a holiday yesterday?

[am1m]

Originally Posted by Sensible_Speed

One of the biggest observation I made, was that people in the CBD, irrespective of what they drive, slow down for a pedestrian if they see one. But, the minute you hit the 'burbs, you as a pedestrian become the target.
...
Coming from Indiranagar, it was a shock to me when...

Hmmm, not sure it has anything to do with the people (I've had enough idiots try to run me down while cycling and as a pedestrian in and around Indiranagar (does that qualify as CBD now?))

But the CBD area (I always thought that was the MG Road and surrounding areas) has seen a dramatic shift with a more pedestrian focus. Bigger footpaths, Metro connectivity, designated areas to cross. And of course much better policing than the areas at the outer limits of the city. Perhaps all that contributes to better and more predictable traffic and pedestrian behavior?

[Sensible_Speed]

Originally Posted by am1m

Hmmm, not sure it has anything to do with the people (I've had enough idiots try to run me down while cycling and as a pedestrian in and around Indiranagar (does that qualify as CBD now?))

But the CBD area (I always thought that was the MG Road and surrounding areas) has seen a dramatic shift with a more pedestrian focus. Bigger footpaths, Metro connectivity, designated areas to cross. And of course much better policing than the areas at the outer limits of the city. Perhaps all that contributes to better and more predictable traffic and pedestrian behavior?

Surely, the increased enforcement in the area must have something to do with traffic discipline here. But, I think it's to do with the traffic density at any given time, both pedestrian and vehicular. With the number of pedestrians lower in the fringes of the city, drivers are less considerate of them, I guess?

Indiranagar is included in the CBD now if I'm not wrong. Cyclists are an exception to this rule I think (laughs nervously). Motorists are not as tolerant of bicycles as they are, pedestrians. I've experienced this on MG Road while riding a bicycle. You are absolutely right on that front.

[airguitar]

It's been some of the worst commute times I have seen since long and that's even before Fengal struck. The post-Diwali traffic has been horrendous, worsening around Mid November. What used to be a 55 minute commute to Kadubisanahalli from Whitefield is now 1.5 hours. Ditto for the return leg. It's one big traffic jam all the way from Kadubisanahalli to Ramagondanahalli. Exasperating spending 3+ hours each day.

Unsure of what has caused this. Are firms forcing all their employees to be in office all days? No end in sight to the misery. No words to describe the sinking feeling.

[kavensri]

One of the reason for the traffic situation could be the condition of roads. I have been living in Bangalore since 1997, but I have never seen such a bad condition of roads even in-and-around CBD.
Most of the major city roads needs relay of tar. But, the BBMP has not even filled the potholes properly. At some places, they have simply dumped the concrete unevenly.

[anandhsub]

I have an 8:30 AM flight to the Airport tomorrow, and I will be starting from KR puram.

Since I am not allowed to take the ORR-> Airport road route and I dont want to take the Bagalur road, is the Budigere route a good option?

I feel STRR is to much of a detour and the City route might have more traffic given this is not exactly an early morning flight.

If anyone has taken this route recently how are the road conditions and traffic ~ 6 Am in the morning.