[arindambasu13]

Traffic is slowly but surely building up in Bangalore. I have been commuting to office for the past few weeks, and I can see an incremental upping in traffic levels each day. Though it is still relatively pleasant to drive, especially early morning commutes, the day is not far when traffic will be back to nearly pre lockdown levels.

The only saving grace is that school buses are off the road, as are a majority of BMTC public buses. These are some of the biggest congestors and their absence is keeping traffic at manageable and tolerable levels till now.

[madhav]

Originally Posted by msdivy

Bus takes around 30 minutes from HSR flyover to reach Silkboard. If they create the bus lane, the distance can be covered in 2 minutes. Unfortunately, the bus lane is missing in this section.

I'm not saying that the bus lane won't help. I making an observation that the authorities have made the bus lane on the flyover, whereas all the buses use the roads below the flyover at the Agara junction as the bus stop is under the flyover.

Unless they intend to take away this stop, which is unlikely, the bus lane on the Agara flyover seems useless.

[shamanth]

Originally Posted by msdivy

...
Bus takes around 30 minutes from HSR flyover to reach Silkboard. If they create the bus lane, the distance can be covered in 2 minutes. Unfortunately, the bus lane is missing in this section.

Agree, this is where the bus-lane is required from HSR to Silkboard signal. So if bus can save 30 mins, then people will start moving to bus.

[wildsdi5530]

Got this as a WhatsApp forward. Is this true?
'Bengaluru Police Commissioner informed to the world how Bengaluru is coming up with a 17 kms bicycle track along the Outer Ring Road.

About five and half feet of space along the service road will be marked as bicycle lane & and he is seeking a Magistrate's order to declare this as cycle lane - This will add legal Muscle towards safety of our Cyclists.'

[shamanth]

Originally Posted by wildsdi5530

Got this as a WhatsApp forward. Is this true?
'Bengaluru Police Commissioner informed to the world how Bengaluru is coming up with a 17 kms bicycle track along the Outer Ring Road.

About five and half feet of space along the service road will be marked as bicycle lane & and he is seeking a Magistrate's order to declare this as cycle lane - This will add legal Muscle towards safety of our Cyclists.'

This is the news, hope some action happens -

https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities...le31567133.ece

[mpksuhas]

Originally Posted by wildsdi5530

About five and half feet of space along the service road will be marked as bicycle lane'

Would be happy if that works out, however one should not forget that majority of ORR doesn't have proper footpath even. So, lets not get our hopes high.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by wildsdi5530

Got this as a WhatsApp forward. Is this true?
'Bengaluru Police Commissioner informed to the world how Bengaluru is coming up with a 17 kms bicycle track along the Outer Ring Road.

About five and half feet of space along the service road will be marked as bicycle lane & and he is seeking a Magistrate's order to declare this as cycle lane - This will add legal Muscle towards safety of our Cyclists.'

I cycle every morning in and around HSR for around 8km-10km. Many times in between meetings/ calls, I am able to do an early evening ride too but shorter, maybe 5-6kms.

It is difficult even in the early morning to cross the main road around Agara lake area. In the day time, it is difficult even in the inside bye lanes of HSR. Motorbikes And Autos in particular are a big menace to cyclists. (Though in my case my Fat Bicycle makes people slow down and look at it more closely). But some dedicated cycle lanes will definitely help.

If I can consistently do this 8-10km daily in relative safety, without having to be worried about getting squished by a truck or a bus, I would be happy. I am not into speed trials and all. I cycle for better health & fitness and for the sheer freedom that a bicycle offers.

Saying all of this I am not sure I would want to cycle along that Outer Ring Road which apparently is home to only maniac drivers. Lawless place. No manners.

There was a cycle track inside the Agara lake perimeter. But they have disallowed bicycles there now because there are far too many walkers. Also that cycle track was a bit dicey because for one thing it was very narrow. For another, there were a few trees whose branches were quite low and obstructive to clear passage. I have bashed my head on some of those branches while cycling. So that didnt work well.

But otherwise, HSR offers a pretty good series of ups and downs and interesting little cycle paths.

The bicycle has become a health and fitness tool of the better off people amongst us, while it still serves as the primary means of transport for those who are less fortunate.

But the Traffic in our cities does not at all allow one to have peace of mind while cycling. Without rear view mirrors and sans indicators, it can be pretty dangerous. Though I have ordered and should be getting some indicators soon.

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by wildsdi5530

About five and half feet of space along the service road will be marked as bicycle lane & and he is seeking a Magistrate's order to declare this as cycle lane - This will add legal Muscle towards safety of our Cyclists.'

Not sure if this is authentic, but if we look at these things it shows people dont address the basic issue, that is to educate drivers irrespective of type of vehicle about some driving etiquette. When govt could do the same for social distancing, they could also do it to at least relate this and advise people to maintain social distancing on the road to avoid corona. I know this sounds stupid, but if you have to make things work you have to scare the people some way or the other to ensure some improvement in behavior. Even in these times, two wheeler riders still ride and stop close to each other.

Instead if we start such demands for dedicated lanes, each section of society will begin demanding their own dedicated lanes. Buses, cyclists are done next we have maybe two wheelers who will demand a portion of the road. After that our Auto rickshaw drivers will think they are devoid of something and they will start.

This whole exercise could have been avoided if there was intense awareness among bus drivers to stick to the left since they need to stop frequently, and for the rest of traffic to follow the etiquette of letting space for the faster vehicle. For the cyclist, its definitely high time they introduce laws related to cyclist safety. Even if dedicated lanes are made then we will have two wheelers stray into the lane.

[OrangeCar]

Mind blowing update. Please hold onto the chairs you are sitting on or you might fall off!

India has begun its march towards development from Sarjapura Road.

Woke up to this mind boggling surprise of a fresh layer of bitumen laid out on one side of the road. Will the other side be laid. No freaking clue.

I, all of a sudden feel like going to the petrol station and filling my fuel tank and water tanks and all tanks with petrol / diesel so that I can pay even more taxes to the government. It after all has started laying roads! Wow!





Now, anybody willing to take a bet? When will this road be dug up? I say 25 days. Some other department / contractor who is eager to deliver development services will dig up to lay a pipe, or remove a pipe. Better still, the contractor who laid the road will himself dig it up, so that he can get a fresh new contract.

That is called a Rant! After all the thread is for rants! Woohoooo!

[arindambasu13]

Originally Posted by OrangeCar

Woke up to this mind boggling surprise of a fresh layer of bitumen laid out on one side of the road. Will the other side be laid. No freaking clue.

Now, anybody willing to take a bet? When will this road be dug up? I say 25 days. Some other department / contractor who is eager to deliver development services will dig up to lay a pipe, or remove a pipe. Better still, the contractor who laid the road will himself dig it up, so that he can get a fresh new contract.

Actually, I am not surprised. I stay in South Bangalore, and as soon as the lockdown was eased (towards lockdown 4.0) road works were begun in right earnest where I stay. From what I understand, road improvement works are also underway in many other parts of the city. I was quite elated to see roads in my area being relaid and brought into top shape. Will enjoy them till some nincompoop comes and digs up the road, as they usually do

As for when that digging will start, it is anyone's guess. BBMP and BESCOM and BWSSB are notoriously uncoordinated in this respect and do not care two hoots about digging up freshly tarred roads on the flimsiest of pretexts.

[AbelAFC]

I'm absolutely livid at the current roadworks situation, it has made my life hell.

I travel from Cooke Town to Koramangala 6th Block nearly everyday and the roadworks in and around Ulsoor and MG Road have wrecked my commute. It's come to a stage where I don't know if the road I've travelled on in the morning will exist when I return.

What are the jokers in the administration thinking?

[Sebring]

Bangalore South is in shambles. Is one single road in order? Kanakpura Rd, Bannerghatta Rd, JP Nagar, Jayanagar, Basavangudi, all gone. And these are under the 'youngest MP' Tejasvi Surya, who I voted for change. But things are far worse. I'll tweet him to see if he responds.

Originally Posted by AbelAFC

I'm absolutely livid at the current roadworks situation, it has made my life hell. I travel from Cooke Town to Koramangala 6th Block nearly everyday and the roadworks in and around Ulsoor and MG Road have wrecked my commute. It's come to a stage where I don't know if the road I've travelled on in the morning will exist when I return.What are the jokers in the administration thinking?

[arindambasu13]

Originally Posted by Sebring

Bangalore South is in shambles. Is one single road in order? Kanakpura Rd, Bannerghatta Rd, JP Nagar, Jayanagar, Basavangudi, all gone. And these are under the 'youngest MP' Tejasvi Surya, who I voted for change. But things are far worse. I'll tweet him to see if he responds.

Which part of JP Nagar are you referring to? I stay in 7th phase and there has been a considerable number of roads in my area which have been freshly re-tarred and are in good shape since the lockdown was lifted. Though there is still quite a bit remaining to be done, I am hoping it gets done over the next couple of months.

True that Surya has promised a lot and remains to be seen if he lives up to them. It will be interesting to see how he responds to your tweet.

Bannerghatta Road is definitely messed up but thats more due to BMRCL's apathy towards expediting metro works.

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by Sebring

Bangalore South is in shambles. Is one single road in order? Kanakpura Rd, Bannerghatta Rd, JP Nagar, Jayanagar, Basavangudi, all gone. And these are under the 'youngest MP' Tejasvi Surya, who I voted for change. But things are far worse. I'll tweet him to see if he responds.

To be honest, the area MP has very less influence on civic matters. Rather any MP in that regard. These roadworks fall under the kitties of the MLA and corporator at the BBMP offices. An MP can only instruct these people. Not justifying Surya, but I feel he is being treated like a newbie since all the people around him are proper old timers within the party itself so it will take some time for actual change to be seen. I stay in Banashankari and the roads are in decent shape. Only grouse I had is the white topping activity on KR Road and RV road which was totally unnecessary and ruined the classic looks of the road But telling that South is in shambles makes me wonder what would be the case with the other areas.

[shamanth]

Originally Posted by arindambasu13

Which part of JP Nagar are you referring to? I stay in 7th phase and there has been a considerable number of roads in my area which have been freshly re-tarred and are in good shape since the lockdown was lifted. Though there is still quite a bit remaining to be done, I am hoping it gets done over the next couple of months.

True that Surya has promised a lot and remains to be seen if he lives up to them. It will be interesting to see how he responds to your tweet.

Bannerghatta Road is definitely messed up but thats more due to BMRCL's apathy towards expediting metro works.

Kanakpura road metro work almost completed 1 year back till Nice road, but its still not seen a full tar,its just patches, dust and potholes. Why cannot they Tar entire road and make it easily commutable.