Rants on Bangalore's traffic situation

[anandtheleo]

Originally Posted by ashokrajagopal

I have a serious question to ask the Ecospace guys (I stay near by and work in Kadubesanahalli).
It is obvious it takes about 30 mins from your workdesk to reach the crawling traffic at the gate. There was recently a news article I read where they mentioned EcoWorld is going to expand and match Manyata techpark in terms of footfall.

Whats the plan guys ?

Please let me know when you get an answer, I have seen people quitting jobs just to get out of this mess. Everyone has a breaking point and many are reaching it.

[binand]

Originally Posted by hemanth.anand

100Kmph would've been ideal for this road; the new 80Kmph is too slow IMO.

As if anyone drives within the posted speed limits on that road. Those boards are as good as being part of the landscape, for all the good they do.

[Chetan_Rao]

Originally Posted by binand

As if anyone drives within the posted speed limits on that road. Those boards are as good as being part of the landscape, for all the good they do.

+1. There's no policing on that road, I barely ever notice their emergency patrol either. On weekends, a lot of people park on the road shoulder and have a picnic on the landscaped sides while traffic whizzes by dangerously close to their cars.

Speed limit boards on NECE aren't worth the material wasted to make them, forget effective.

Originally Posted by anandtheleo

....I have seen people quitting jobs just to get out of this mess. Everyone has a breaking point and many are reaching it.

'Will I be located in/around Ecospace?' has become an oft-repeated question by prospective candidates, both local and outstation. You know it's really bad when people from outside the city know about it!

[deep_bang]

Originally Posted by ashokrajagopal

I have a serious question to ask the Ecospace guys (I stay near by and work in Kadubesanahalli).
It is obvious it takes about 30 mins from your workdesk to reach the crawling traffic at the gate. There was recently a news article I read where they mentioned EcoWorld is going to expand and match Manyata techpark in terms of footfall.

Whats the plan guys ?

Let me explain a little. Isnt it boring that every day you wake up, have breakfast and go to office in the same route, same time, same roads, same car? Now, think about how nice it would be to have an adventurous ride every day. Every corner, you dont know what lies ahead. And Every Day as you leave from work, there is that excitement about what lies ahead - is it fully empty, is it just empty, how many of your collegues did you beat today, in going out of the campus faster than tham?

Get the drift?

All this has a higher purpose in life.

The purpose is to live an adventurous life as compared to a predictable, boring normal life.

So, please be thankful if you get an opportunity to work in EcoSpace/EcoWorld etc.

PS: I work in EcoSpace. I am very lucky.

PS: It is an oxymoron to name it ecospace, which has nothing "eco" about it - about say 200 vehicles idling away their engines just to get out? This is also part of the whole idea of "expect the unexpected".

--- End of rant ---

[dark.knight]

Originally Posted by deep_bang

PS: It is an oxymoron to name it ecospace, which has nothing "eco" about it - about say 200 vehicles idling away their engines just to get out? This is also part of the whole idea of "expect the unexpected".

That was named so just to get the special privileges of being in a SEZ, you see they had to conform to LEED specifications (I think they are rated Gold and they enjoy massive tax breaks as a result). As always a tradition in India, they have only done a half-baked job at best, the only true LEED rated buildings are in U.S with the only platinum rated building being Bank of America in NY.

However there is a flaw in the LEED ratings itself, allow me to quote an article :

According to data released by New York City last fall, the Bank of America Tower produces more greenhouse gases and uses more energy per square foot than any comparably sized office building in Manhattan. It uses more than twice as much energy per square foot as the 80-year-old Empire State Building. It also performs worse than the Goldman Sachs headquarters, maybe the most similar building in New York—and one with a lower LEED rating. It’s not just an embarrassment; it symbolizes a flaw at the heart of the effort to combat climate change.

You see, they are only concerned about optimizing natural light & ventilation, however the fact remains that glass might let in light but also as a result, heat, and since glass on the facade isn't openable, this puts stress on the HVAC and as a result power consumption. They also suggest use of LED's, eco-friendly construction material and dust/VOC free atmosphere but they never speak of regulation of LED use, subsequent reworkings of the interiors and maintenance of HVAC units which when ignored or not optimized will be disastrous.

The EcoSpace to boot, has the worst traffic-management & parking system on earth, a laughable project.

[audioholic]

Looking at the discussions on these tech parks, I want to walk into Ecospace some day and take a look at how things are set up. Of course I am not taking my car ever. The only tech park experience I have had is when I was waiting for my cousin to take his car out of Prestige Shantiniketan. It took him 25minutes just to come out of the parking lot to the road. We could have covered half the distance if I had parked the car in my office opposite to PSN and he had walked till my office.

This whole concept of stuffing thousands of people in office spaces which have small roads to connect is just stupid and everyone from the builders to the company management are closely involved in this scam. How do you expect so many people to enter and exit the place with such an approach and a rather small road/service road. Rather I feel Manyata is a little better with respect to approach and road width. The companies are located a little inside than immediately at the entrance.

[Vysakh]

Originally Posted by audioholic

I feel Manyata is a little better with respect to approach and road width. The companies are located a little inside than immediately at the entrance.

What really works for Manyata is that it has 4 or 5 gates, all meant for different directions.

[TorqueyTechie]

Just read this news about an underpass being planned near Baiyappanahalli metro station. BBMP is planning to construct this bi-directional underpass at the suranjas das road and old madras road intersection.

Quoting from the source :

With no alternative route to the Old Madras Road, BBMP will go in for a novel method to carry out the work so that traffic is not affected, the official said.
“For the first time in Bengaluru, we are going to make use of the contiguous piling system technology. It is a system where piling (foundation work) is carried out underneath and a big deck slab is put over it,” the official said.
There will be provisions incorporated in the structure so that Suranjan Das Road and Whitefield can be connected in the future, he added.

Source : http://www.newindianexpress.com/citi...n-1593796.html

Now, I am not a regular on that route. So regular folks who use that road do you think that this is needed? According to the article it says that it helps to reduce the commute. My worry is knowing how bad any plan turns into by the implementation and finally completion stage here, I just hope that they take into consideration all aspect and implement this instead of another knee jerk reaction to a problem.

[sachinpk]

Not a rant at all!!
Looks like the city is still in the Easter hang over . Left E-City area by around 0850Hrs and I was at ITPL at 1000Hrs. Very less traffic on the road till Hope Farm Jn.

[RaguHolla]

Originally Posted by binand

As if anyone drives within the posted speed limits on that road. Those boards are as good as being part of the landscape, for all the good they do.

I drive @ 80kmph, I used to do same speed even when limit was 120kmph. My reasons, at this speed I do not have to brake till toll. If i need to brake, I can already ease the gas, and brake gradually. As a added bonus, I get best mileage! Riding at 80 and at 120 means mostly you will be ahead of 5 cars during exit of toll. My travel is between Bannerghatta to EC.

[Divya Sharan]

Originally Posted by Vysakh

What really works for Manyata is that it has 4 or 5 gates, all meant for different directions.

Manyata is heading the Freakospace way as well. I've seen this tech park deteriorate since late 2012. It has 2 main gates (only) at the front next to the ORR before Nagawara signal. The problem with these gates is that roads leading to them act as 1 way/2 way depending upon the time of the day.

One cannot leave from office between 8 AM to 1 PM towards Hebbal without having to travel to Nagawara and take a U turn, or reach office after 5 PM from Hebbal side since the traffic shoots out like crazy. And then, between 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM, you've poor security chaps manning the roads and letting in traffic come from either direction in batches, yes you read it right.

So, either I wait for 10-20 min (in a car/2 wheeler) or I get to cross immediately. People keep engines running, they honk like fools, buses run dangerously close, forcing you to breathe in from their AC vents etc.

Yes, there is another gate from the back that links close to Elements mall, but the approach road is pathetic. Tractors can get broken down on such surfaces. Even if one takes that route, after crossing the treacherous back side road, one has to jostle at Nagawara and fight at Lumbini and then again at Hebbal.

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by TorqueyTechie

Now, I am not a regular on that route. So regular folks who use that road do you think that this is needed? According to the article it says that it helps to reduce the commute. My worry is knowing how bad any plan turns into by the implementation and finally completion stage here, I just hope that they take into consideration all aspect and implement this instead of another knee jerk reaction to a problem.

In short, I would say no. But that is the big picture and I am not aware of the details. So mine is more like an armchair comment. However, it depends on how sensibly the plan is made.

Why I feel it is not required?
The current set of three signals, ie Suranjan Das Road Jn., SG Palya Jn., Big Bazaar Junction do a job of holding blocks of traffic. Though it might cause delays to commuters, it still organizes traffic flow. This also reduces the burden on the junctions at either end, SV road junction on one side and the RamMurthy Nagar Railway bridge. Free this stretch, and traffic will just pile up at these places. Net benefit to the commuter will be negated here.

Also, if they plan an underpass at the Junction, the ramp will end at the metro station and then we will see buses stopping haphazardly causing traffic crawls. Again, benefit to commuters will be negated once they exit the underpass, like our stupid ORR. Then they will plan another flyover in front of the metro station which will cause another bottleneck since buses and cabs will stop between flyover and underpass to pick/drop people at BYPL metro station.

On the other hand, there are some benefits of such an underpass. It will help those who come from NGEF side to avoid getting diverted towards the metro station just to take a U Turn. Not that most idiots follow this, though. Also, the underpass should somehow continue beyond SG palya junction to offer a free flow of traffic towards KR Puram. If it ends before that, the Metro station and the right turn at SG Palya junction will flush down whatever benefit the underpass had to offer.

Hence, this looks to me like another money making scam by the BBMP. The stretch has three intersections. Trying to free one intersection can only make a mess at the other two. Instead, they should just continue the current setup, and widen the road to form a separate pair of service lanes for those who want to pick up and drop people to the metro station. And the main carriageway should be protected with a parapet so that vehicles cant stop on it for pickup/drop. This will make a considerable difference. The roads have too many vehicles and making one junction signal free will mess another. No two ways to this.

[drive2eternity]

Having worked for close to two years in Ecospace and just over a year now in Ecoworld, I can rant on and on about these 'parks'.
But let me assure you, Ecospace is bliss compared to Ecoworld.
I have heard that the plan is to include 150000 more work stations in Ecoworld by 2018. This would mean close to 200000 work stations in Ecoworld in total. Add the support staff and we are seeing close to 250000 people using a narrow, barely 2 laned road to enter and exit Ecoworld. Add to it the residents of premium villas and high end societies of Adarsh. The way the techpark is built, the only goal was to maximize office space. There are hardly any open spaces around any of the towers. Trust me, Manyata is way better.
Moreover, most of the safe assembly areas are on the pathways around the tower itself. If in case of an emergency, the entire building is evacuated and people stand on the paths, how are the emergency services going to reach the spot?
It is unbelievable such a layout plan was approved, constructed and occupied.

~~Rant to continue periodically~~

[ashokrajagopal]

Originally Posted by drive2eternity

Having worked for close to two years in Ecospace and just over a year now in Ecoworld, I can rant on and on about these 'parks'.
But let me assure you, Ecospace is bliss compared to Ecoworld.
I have heard that the plan is to include 150000 more work stations in Ecoworld by 2018. This would mean close to 200000 work stations in Ecoworld in total. Add the support staff and we are seeing close to 250000 people using a narrow, barely 2 laned road to enter and exit Ecoworld. Add to it the residents of premium villas and high end societies of Adarsh. The way the techpark is built, the only goal was to maximize office space. There are hardly any open spaces around any of the towers. Trust me, Manyata is way better.
Moreover, most of the safe assembly areas are on the pathways around the tower itself. If in case of an emergency, the entire building is evacuated and people stand on the paths, how are the emergency services going to reach the spot?
It is unbelievable such a layout plan was approved, constructed and occupied.

~~Rant to continue periodically~~

Wow, I almost collapsed from by desk. I can only pity with the Intel guys, with the Eco twins on either side.
On a serious note, if any of you work in Ecospace or Ecoworld, pls take good care of your health. Yes, there is a good hospital across the road, but you wouldnt reach there on time for an emergency. Imagine a cardiac issue inside Ecospace at 430PM.

[sachinpk]

Originally Posted by hemanth.anand

Today I noticed that the speed limit on NECE road has been reduced to 80Kmph from 120Kmph. All the boards have been pasted with new 80 stickers over the 120 present earlier.

Originally Posted by Chetan_Rao

There's no policing on that road, I barely ever notice their emergency patrol either. On weekends, a lot of people park on the road shoulder and have a picnic on the landscaped sides while traffic whizzes by dangerously close to their cars.

Many of us may not know this. NECE (Outer Ring Road) is like a big private road with even the NHAI not having any powers on that stretch. It is de-facto the private property of Ashok Kheni. The Karnataka Government and Nandi Infrastructure had signed such a messed up contract that Nandi Infrastructures got lots of land for its own use. It now need not answer any questions. A few politicians (who had influenced the government earlier, since they also were to get their "share") had tried to mess up with Ashok Kheni, but he came out as the winner. State Govt. had to pay a hefty fees as court charges.

So Karnataka Police only have the same rights which they would be having in a private house/compound. They can come in when a crime has been committed, but cannot do any preventive action. Earlier the police used to have their "interceptors" on that road, but they have all been pulled back. And the security detail provided by NECE, they are just another security agency with the staff not even having the powers of a police constable.

Originally Posted by mjumrani

There a dozens of TT's in beaten up condition plying on ring road and police do not have a issue with them. Someone makes it organised and all of a sudden government has a problem.

It is like theft v/s dacoity (organised crime). What ZipGo did was to try act all "legal" by using the App etc. But by doing that they just exposed themselves and their shady business model.