[sachinpk]

Originally Posted by kiran_cr

Today its the turn of east bangalore. Very very heavy rain, gusty wind and ferocious hailstorm. Knocked off the power here. Saw people taking refuge under metro line

In Western part of Bangalore near Vijaya Nagar, I guess people had got so upset with the traffic block that they started a minor riot. Finally the law & order police also arrived in sufficient strength. All though I cannot figure out how rioting would stop the rains or clear the traffic blocks.

[drivingme.crazy]

Originally Posted by TwentyDeewar

In the city where even a sneeze brings it to a crawl, today's hailstorm had to bring it to a standstill....

Originally Posted by sammyboy

...a few days more and my car and left leg will thank me.

Tell me about it. Took me 2 and half hours from Whitefield to Sarjapur road. The car's RPM was low but my heart's BPM was near the red-line till I reached home.

Most of the drivers were making a statement. "If you care about rules, STAY OFF THE ROAD".

When I found en empty stretch I involuntarily stepped up and momentarily, blinded by high-beams in rear view mirror, entered a small pool of water on the left and showered a near by biker. Before I could slow-down, he and a fellow biker came in front of me and asked me to stop.

I thought he would punch me first before speaking. I apologized as soon as he came close and explained the situation. He gave me one long stare and left the scene.

RJ Shagufta was pleading in Indigo 91.9 "be courteous towards bikers and pedestrians who are less fortunate than you, not to be in a car" and damn, I became one of those car drivers she meant.

When I reached home, my car, my left leg and my conscience.. all were cursing me.

[tharian]

I hardly use my car to work and when I do, it would be a day like yesterday.

To start off the rant, my car was parked in the open in the office compound and got thulped by hailstones. Lucky for me, the hailstorm wasn't that bad in CV Raman Nagar and I didn't notice any damage yet. I leave office at 715p just hoping the short 6 kms home won't take that long. There is normally just one point there is a jam and that is the signal at Suranjandas road-Old Madras Road. A tree had fallen nearing the signal which made the road only one car wide, but still traffic was moving. I usually take the Bypanahalli road which goes along the railway line and then into Jeevanhalli and behind ITC infotech onto Banasawadi main road.
As soon as I cut off to the Bypanahalli road, two wheelers started waving the road is blocked- first mistake, should have continued anyway since the route is shorter and even with a jam I could have reached faster that what I did. The only worry would have been the flooded underpass at Jeevanahalli . Took a U turn and continued on Old Madras road past the RTO and towards Ulsoor lake.

I was beaming that I am going to reach home without much of a jam when the fun began. Slow moving traffic started from the old swimming pool beside the lake and at the MEG gate it was just stuck. I have this special luck, the line I am in, is always the slowest. There were three lines of traffic and I was at the extreme right since I don't like being stuck in the left or middle. And yes, that lane did not move while the others did. To make matters worse, smart morons including four wheelers started using the opposite side to go towards the triangle at Foto Flash which made things worse since there was gridlock there. I was on that road for more than 30 mins and the most annoying part being , drivers on the left of me not only were moving, they kept pushing the cars on the right lane onto the divider!
It was the same story from the triangle to Wheeler Road flyover. The road jammed, three lanes, my lane did not move, hero's on the opposite lane.

My normal commute of 20 mins took close to 120 mins!
Mistakes I made-should have stuck to the road I normally use and should have left when it was pouring , I left as it was reducing which made everyone hit the road at the same time.

Thank God for my bike and closeness of my workpalce!

[ambivalent_98]

Yesterday's rain and hailstorm brought the city to its knees as usual. Anyway , I think it took me 2 hours to cover the approx 2 kms from Sakra Hospital to Maratahalli with a good part of that time spent in the logjam on top of the underpass on Panathur / Cessna tech park. Luckily I had come up the service road on the left scared of taking the middle road. In the underpass lots of two wheelers waiting to avoid the rain and hail and water piling up too.
Luckily for me a self proclaimed cop aka good samaritan started helping ushering the traffic. I was on the extreme left and was able to move out relatively quickly. Near the new Adobe building there was suddenly like in US....the vehicles coming on the wrong side of the road.
I was kinda expecting a cop trying to help make sense of the traffic jam , but all along the way (I drove upto the airport yesterday evening to pick up some family members) no cops. They had just deserted their posts or maybe all the duties of all cops were over exactly at 6 pm

[sachinpk]

Originally Posted by ambivalent_98

Luckily for me a self proclaimed cop aka good samaritan started helping ushering the traffic. I was on the extreme left and was able to move out relatively quickly.

This is some thing which I have noticed in many parts of Bengaluru. The locals forming up squads and dirtying their hands to clear the traffic mess. The Traffic Police would be missing, or some times vastly out numbered. Many of these junctions, it is just not possible for one person (even if he is a Traffic police man) to control. As I mentioned in Vijaya nagar side yesterday there was a chance of even a riot to happen and they had bring in reinforcements from KSRP etc.

[TwentyDeewar]

Originally Posted by suresh_gs

I would suggest your better half to travel in cabs like OLA, taxi for sure etc.. to office for work
The advantages include:
1. No need to drive so no tension. After a day's work you are mentally tired looking into the computer/laptop screen continuously.
2. By taking your personal vehicle for office commute, you are spending a lot that includes fuel cost (due to start stop traffic), vehicle maintenance due to wear and tear. All this will be avoided if you opt for cab.
3. Mother of all reasons. You must have heard the proverb TAKE THE BULL BY THE HORNS. If you have to survive driving in bangalore traffic, you have to be a cabbie driver. These guys somehow know the knack of wriggling through whatever space they get to keep inching forward. I have seen the same in my office cab driver who drives a Chevy Tavera.

Hopefully these points are good food for thought.

All relevant points, and ::Big Sigh:: if not for my wife's nature of work - which involves unpredictable work timings and sometimes a requirement to travel to a different location at short notice, we would have ditched the car for public commute a long time back

On a positive note, Bangalore was mostly back to normal today (Traffic at the usual points, a few fallen trees here and there but ok for most parts), though I did notice a pile building up at an unusual spot - the sarjapur flyover - which almost always has moving traffic.

Originally Posted by tharian

I hardly use my car to work and when I do, it would be a day like yesterday.

To start off the rant, my car was parked in the open in the office compound and got thulped by hailstones.

You would probably have been left wishing for your car if you were on your bike and the hailstorm had hit then

A friend of mine was on his bike yesterday when the hailstorm struck. Lucky for him he was wearing his helmet, and the hailstones weren't too big. Ended up being a nice body massage from above!!

MODS: Please merge this post with my previous one. Should've used the multi-quote option!!

[ashwin.terminat]

Huge jam on Varthur Road leading to Kundalahalli Gate and consequentially, Nallurahalli Road was blocked as well.

Reason: A big water tanker that had broken down.

[sandsun7]

Bangalore Traffic Police plans to implement the following changes around Madiwala with effect from 26th April:

Traffic re-arrangements and restrictions in Adugodi & Madivala Traffic Stations limit implementing on Temporarily basis from 26.4.2015. :
1. Traffic going from Silk board junction towards Sarjapura Road Junction and Madiwala Checkpost have to travel as usual and the Traffic coming from Madiwala Checkpost side restricted to move on Hosur road. (Refer 1 & 2 in the attached map)
2. The restricted traffic at Sarjapura road junction can go upto Krupanidhi college junction, take right turn and join Madiwala santhe beedi to join Madiwala Police Station Jn-Total mall Jn & Silkboard junction & Hosur road. (Refer 2, 3, 4 & 5in the attached map)
3. People those who wants to go to Maruthi nagar side can take right turn at Koramangala water tank junction further right turn at Kendriya Sadana and go further. (Refer 3, 6 & 7 in the attached map)
4. Traffic coming from Agara and Jakkasandra side towards Madiwala check post are prohibited to use Sarjapura road, instead they can take left turn at Krupanidhi college junction on to Madivala Sante Beedi and take right turn at Madivala Police Station junction-Total mall junction and can go further. (Refer 4, 5, 6 in the attached map)
5. Traffic going towards Madiwala and silk board from Koramangala BDA Complex by taking left turn at Koramangala Water Tank junction, reach Krupanidhi junction and via Madiwala santhe beedhi may reach Hosur Road. And by travelling straight towards Kendriya Sadana & taking right turn can go further towards to reach St. Johns hospital Junction, Marutinagar, Sarjapura checkpost & Madiwala checkpost (Refer 3, 6, 7, 1, 2 in the attached map)



Source: BTP FB page

[Vid6639]

Oh what a disaster this is going to be. If any of you guys remember, BTP had tried this many years back as well. All traffic to E-city has to take left on Sarjapur road and right on Madivala market then again left at Total mall. Those 3 sharp turns are chaos as noone follows lanes discipline. Imagine 5-6 lanes of heavy traffic including trucks, buses, autos, cabbies turning sharply 3 times in 2kms.

On the other hand, there really is no other way than to do this. There's no other road to play around with. What they need to make sure is just one thing. This entire stretch from Hosur road/Sarjapur junction, Krupanidhi college and total mall has the worst stretches of road. Potholes, man holes, extreme lanes taken up by hawkers. All these need to go, road needs to be freshly tarred too allow smooth flow.

[hothatchaway]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

Oh what a disaster this is going to be. If any of you guys remember, BTP had tried this many years back as well. All traffic to E-city has to take left on Sarjapur road and right on Madivala market then again left at Total mall. Those 3 sharp turns are chaos as noone follows lanes discipline. Imagine 5-6 lanes of heavy traffic including trucks, buses, autos, cabbies turning sharply 3 times in 2kms.
.

I had the privilege of testing this first hand today, was dropping the wife off to work at Hosur road. Coming from Indiranagar I generally take left at Ooty Chocolates after the KRM Sony signal to emerge at Krupanidhi college circle and right onto Madiwala market. Today, the Madiwala market stretch right upto Madiwala police station turnoff towards ecity was teeming with vehicles jostling for space, given that this stretch is now bearing the additional brunt of the other alternate route leading upto Total Mall. If this was the situation on Sunday, one shudders to imagine what would happen tomorrow.

On my way back, I thought the situation would be better. Wrong, traffic was backed up by quite a bit at the KRM water tank junction where you can no longer take a left.

At a loss to understand where congestion is getting eased at the cost of this. To allow for the traffic load to be doubled on the pockmarked madiwala market road is an act of sheer lunacy!

[TorqueyTechie]

Originally Posted by sandsun7

Attachment 1364295

Source: BTP FB page

Oh this is going to be a big disaster! I take this route daily for my travel to my office in EC. I usually dread the traffic from christ college till total mall in madiwala which takes easily 20 mins. But this change is going to make it an additional 30 mins . I guess have to start early to office.

[Vid6639]

The Madiwala market road has easily 2 lanes occupied by the vegetable vendors. To top it off the entire stretch is filled with huge potholes and is in shambles. To divert the entire traffic onto this stretch without first clearing and tarring it up is utter stupidity by the authorities.

The idea is to have the road ready first before opening it for volume traffic!

[KiloAlpha]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

The Madiwala market road has easily 2 lanes occupied by the vegetable vendors. To top it off the entire stretch is filled with huge potholes and is in shambles. To divert the entire traffic onto this stretch without first clearing and tarring it up is utter stupidity by the authorities.

The idea is to have the road ready first before opening it for volume traffic!

Correction.

2 lanes occupied by vendors and hand cart hawkers. 2 lanes occupied by people parking badly and double-parking. One lane occupied by cows. Another occupied by mounds of garbage.
Space for traffic, O space for traffic, wherefore art thou?

I think this gyratory system is going to introduce more traffic into the residential lanes and cause more of a bottle-neck at Jakkasandra. For traffic coming from Agara proceeding towards St. John's Hospital, Forum, and Adugodi, it won't take them much time to find a route through the lanes of Koramangala 1st/3rd block bypassing the whole one-way system.

[paragsachania]

Tomorrow will be the D-Day! Expect total chaos due this major change. Even when BTP had blocked traffic through Madiwala underpass for repair work, I recall how bad the situation was right from St. John's Signal to Water Tank all the way till Krupanidhi.

I am going to watch updates here tomorrow and take a call on whether to avoid this or use based on the feedback since I only travel post 11:30am from home to EC.

[TorqueyTechie]

Today I had to take this new route to reach silkboard from Forum. The traffic as suspected is bad and today being the first weekday(and that too a monday) there was confusion on most of the people's mind. Traffic from St.John's hospital till koramangala water tank was bad. It took 15 mins to cross that stretch. People were confused and were stopping and talking to police (stationed along the route) for directions which lead to little more blockage.

The madiwala market road is as already mentioned bad with lot of potholes slowing up traffic. The right side of the median is for people going towards madiwala while the left side is for people going towards silkboard. Again owing to confusion people were changing lanes all the time.

This was the situation at 8 30 AM today. Expect more chaos as the day progresses and the traffic increases. But to give credit where its due, BTP has positioned lot of traffic cops along the route and they were trying their best to regulate traffic.