[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by tiagoatrix

6. I can't stop comparing Chennai and Bengaluru's traffic and roads, Chennai is at least 10 years ahead in road quality and ease of traffic.

Yes there is no comparison at all between Madras and Bangalore with Madras being way superior in most respects which impact common tax paying citizens (other than the weather!)

I am just ‘fresh-off-the-plane’ from Sri Lanka via Madras; I have the following observations, having been driven around multiple parts of the Island for a week when on holiday. I haven’t visited there for many years and this week was a real eye-opener.

The glaring contrasts that I now see between anywhere in Sri Lanka and India, in particular, Bengaluru, are numerous, with Sri Lanka being far superior.
1. Traffic lane discipline
2. Following road rules
3. Following all speed limits
4. Yielding to traffic where necessary
5. Smooth traffic movement around the numerous roundabouts
6. Uniformly excellent road surfaces and road banking (except some minor surface issues on the road from Awissawela to Colombo)
7. Respect for other road users
8. No honking and hurriedly cutting in front
9. Mutual respect between road users, drivers and the traffic police.
10. Excellent road markings, traffic signage and scientific, progressive increases and decreases of speed limits along various stretches of road such as one sees in ‘developed’ nations.
11. Orderly queues everywhere with no pushing, shoving, jostling and creating alternate queues as we do here in India because we are ‘more equal’ than others.
12. Did not notice any VIP behaviour with abiect Police subservience and tons of Red Beacon cars and sirens and motorcades holding up any traffic anywhere. (Despite staying in and around the parts of each town where these ‘dignitaries’ generally hang out. (But then again, maybe they were all on holiday in London!)
13. An overall ‘patience’ and ‘calm’ which are in absolutely stark contrast to the frightful levels of noise and anger and indiscipline and impatience that one sees as a matter of daily routine on the roads here in India.

Some road and traffic pics placed here of Sri Lanka, for illustration purposes and to help alleviate our daily misery of Bangalore roads and traffic.

[wildsdi5530]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

I am just ‘fresh-off-the-plane’ from Sri Lanka via Madras; I have the following observations, having been driven around multiple parts of the Island for a week when on holiday. I haven’t visited there for many years and this week was a real eye-opener.

Another thing I noticed about Sri Lanka, I visited Colombo last month, was the sheer number of Mercs and BMWs there. Even new generation Maruti cars which have not been launched in India are plying there though most of the cars are more than 2 years old due to the economic crisis.

Also people were very comfortable there, the economic crisis seems to have affected the government only and not the common man. I guess that's how it is in 3rd world countries. Stark contrast to India where the government is doing great but common man seems to have economic crisis.

[etrast75]

Did the regular BLR-CBE trip last week and while coming back from CBE , took the hosur->bagalur->sarjapur->bellandur road to avoid the mess that is attibele toll (24*7*365 days a year).

Roads were very good from hosur->bagalur till end of tamilnadu border.. very good smooth surface, shoulders on both side wide for 3 vehicles to go in parallel etc.. Enter karnataka and things changed starkly.. narrow roads, potholes and broken tarmac all over the place, unnecessary speed breakers everywhere, dust all over the place..

The contrast was so stark that I could not wonder why KA citizens accept it a normal when TN is showing it is possible to build and maintain good roads.. TN is equally corrupt but somehow road surfaces is better everywhere..

[krish11]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

6. Uniformly excellent road surfaces and road banking

I have also visited Sri Lanka and was amazed by their good state of road construction. It’s scientifically done - road banking and well designed drains along the shoulder. The design works for the heavy rains they get.

It appears road banking is an alien concept in Bangalore - rather the practice is to create flat road surfaces to create water pools which in turn create potholes - so that public money can keep getting wasted for either pothole repair or laying (rather painting) fresh tar.

And how often does road work and drainage work happen together ? It seems both these works are contracted to different vendors at different times - opportunity to maximize money making.

Another mess created is in cleaning the drains - the drainage slabs are uprooted and drainage debris is piled up on the road - left for days together affecting traffic as well as leaving standing water on the road. The debris again lands up in the drain because of the rains or traffic pushing it back.

Civic agencies keep committing to the public and even High Court that will eradicate the pothole menace - How can they if they don’t address it scientifically.

[rajathv8]

Originally Posted by LordSharan

1. Talking on phone, while riding a bike. One hand is holding phone to ears, and other one is accelerating or braking.

This has morphed into many forms, two of which i find scariest and have witnessed too many times to ignore:

- Video call while riding, no idea why anyone would do that.
- Child between legs in the front, riding with one hand, talking on phone with the other.

[Acharya]

Well, a slightly different take. During last week of Dec I happen to drive to Chennai from Bangalore. Post Kanchipuram, all the way till Nungambakkam it was horrid traffic. Wife and I were discussing, no matter which direction you enter in Bangalore - From Tumkur/Nice/Hosur/KR Puram/ BIAL, you would certainly have better experience in entering Blr City center.

It was not the peak hour when we entered Chennai around 1300, But the traffic was maddening, a heady cocktail of all possible things with wheels -large trailers, trucks, private/govt buses and mini transport vehicles, combined with cars. Large blockages for crossings.

We were just wondering, how sane entering in Blore is (yes, leave aside Attibele mess)

Could be exceptional day, it was just one day and I did not explore too much except Blr - Nungambakkam - ECR - Mahabalipuram.

I just realized, I am not Ranting about Blore, for a change!

[Comrade]

Just back after spending couple of days each in Chennai and Bengaluru. I am impressed with Chennai roads but more so with the road manners. Chennai didn't feel intimidating at all and was very relaxing to drive. Roads were in top condition, and there was zero dust on the roads with clearly laid footpaths etc. In stark contrast, Bengaluru was as nasty as ever. Non-existent roads, sand & dust everywhere, rash driving by cabs and big SUVs etc etc. Not sure how residents tolerate Bengaluru traffic & infrastructure! At least, we hyderabadis dont have bad roads even though traffic manners still leaves a lot to be desired.

[balenoed_]

Originally Posted by Comrade

Not sure how residents tolerate Bengaluru traffic & infrastructure.

Team BHPians: By coming here and ranting about it.

Others: By trying to self satisfy by saying the the weather is good but.

That’s about it. It is a Work In Progress city.

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by Comrade

Just back after spending couple of days each in Chennai and Bengaluru. I am impressed with Chennai roads but more so with the road manners. Chennai didn't feel intimidating at all and was very relaxing to drive. Roads were in top condition, and there was zero dust on the roads with clearly laid footpaths etc. In stark contrast, Bengaluru was as nasty as ever. Non-existent roads, sand & dust everywhere, rash driving by cabs and big SUVs etc etc. Not sure how residents tolerate Bengaluru traffic & infrastructure! At least, we hyderabadis dont have bad roads even though traffic manners still leaves a lot to be desired.

That depends on the area you compare with. I was in Koyambedu last month and I can tell you that Bangalore is much better than the mess I was in. There was construction all around, all the interior roads were horrible, non paved and dusty and except the well kept arterial roads, the rest was just horrible. Similarly, if you take areas like ORR, whitefield into reference you might find the central areas of Chennai better. Come to where I stay in Bangalore and I will show you top condition roads, well laid footpaths, well planned layouts, parks and recreation areas every other road and stuff. So that sort of a comparison is vague.

[Comrade]

Agree my post is bit generic/vague but its general observation from a person who doesn't know both cities very well. But honestly, it's not like I was airdropped into best neighborhood of Chennai vs worst neighborhood of Bengaluru. I drove into Chennai from AP border, roamed around few places (Anna Nagar, T.Nagar, Velachery/Guindy/Adyar, VGP) and exited via Chromepet, Thambaram to south TN. I have experienced areas in both cities where metro construction was going on (eg Madhavaram to Anna Nagar vs Marthahalli to HSR) but definitely Chennai is doing a much better job! It is just a honest observation & I only wish BLR roads to be as good if not better!

[shankar.balan]

The older and more established areas in all our cities in general are always in much better shape than the newly developed/ still developing/ yet to be developed areas.

However, when the authorities display a sustained lack of coordination and/ or dig up the whole city in the name of ‘smart city project’ , ‘white topping’ , ‘over pass/ under pass project’, ‘metro rail project’ etc, it really is of absolutely no consequence as to which part of the city one lives in, because the whole city is uniformly in a mess.

It is true that with multiple infra projects going on, most cities and urban areas are very much in a ‘worl-in-progress’ condition as we speak.

Therefore, best to avoid peak hours and wherever and whenever possible, opt-in to and choose WFH over WFO.

[shamanths3]

The problem is that for tourists, all entry points are these problem areas. Electronic City from Chennai, Hebbal for Airport etc.

I say this to all outsiders who come to Bangalore and complain about the traffic, is it the Best, hell no. However people who usually complain have seen only certain part of Bangalore. There is lot more to this City than that.

Yes, it needs improvement, but it's our Home and we love it because we know that not all Bangalore is traffic and dust ridden. You just have to live outside the Box, if you know what I mean.

Welcome to Namma Bengaluru!!

[sai_ace]

Just back after spending a week in Chennai. I have always been a fan of Chennai infrastructure. The main roads (mount Road, Beach Road, 100 ft road, GST till Airport, OMR) especially are in a different league to even what the best of what Bangalore has to offer.

The below photo is one of my favourite places in Chennai. A convergence of Road, Rail, Metro Rail and Air - Kathipara. Boggles my mind that such a grade separator was visualized and built 15 years ago. I can hear Silk Board and Hebbal scream out in agony. (Fun Fact: The Madras suburban rail started out somewhere in 1930s, and the Mount Road traces its origins to almost 400 years ago)



However things aren't all hunky dory.

The shocker this time was the state of the interior roads. I was staying in KK Nagar but be it Ashok Nagar, Mambalam, Virugambakkam , Saligramam or Koyambedu - the interior roads are in extremely poor condition. The only explanation is the overall UGD, SWD and Metro work happening at the same time. And the minor relief is the fact that even the partially worked upon drainage systems have worked well in the face of the recent rains and mandous. Having seen all these places I have mentioned in much better condition I definitely think these places are all in a temporary work in progress state.

I have a question to those who frequent these two cities - do you guys notice that no matter the best road in Bangalore - the road is never level and there is always this annoying movement in the car. The only exception to this are the roads near the CM's residence. Between two new good roads in Bangalore and Chennai - I find the quality of road work in Chennai better.

Mind you this is not some kind of a flame post - I am a Madras Boy who is now domiciled in Bangalore - and I wish both the cities become much better than what they are now.

[DRIVE_ADDICT]

I have spent fair amount of years in both cities. Traffic discipline in both cities are the same and worst. But when it comes to road surface quality and time to finish a repair work Chennai is way ahead of Bangalore. I told to many of my relatives and friends in Chennai to stick to sedan as i feel Chennai and the whole of TN, don't require a high GC vehicle, one can enjoy the low slung sedan to its full glory there.

When i visited Chennai post 2018 heavy flood, the condition of road was much worse and i was telling to my friends, 'Gone are the days you buggers enjoyed the super silky smooth roads, now suffer like us.' But within 2 months it was all back to its full glory.

The current condition due to SWD work makes it look worst, but this is to prepare the city to tackle the yearly floods which off-late became a norm every year.
i bet the city will be back to its glory in few months.

Bangalore i don't know why/what is wrong, even the newly paved road will not get that smoother feel, i think the contractors here are working with an extremely slim margin ;-).
You always find a big pothole after an unscientific road hump, Internal roads are filled with speed breakers every few meters and the rest of the road ensure you cannot build any speed. Couple of day back i saw a Thar scrapping the road while tackling a pothole :-). No not exaggerating, this does happened in Dommasandra circle and the vehicle was a TD vehicle from nearby Mahindra showroom, nice place to have the showroom though :-) to unleash the prowess of M&M.

I wish the upcoming election will give some short term respite to us, yes unfortunately you only get respite when it comes to road infrastructure in Bangalore, because while they were finishing a road work at far end, there will be some BSSB, BWSB, or someone will start digging the road from the tail end.
Very simple way to teach your kid what is an infinite loop.

Do note KA highways are good, much better than MH but the moment you enter Bangalore city all gone.

[Su-47]

This is a contrary to the thread title but I found the traffic to be really easy in the last week of Dec: HSR to Jayanagar in 25 mins, almost any time of the day. Same with HSR to KR puram and numerous other places. Guess all those who love driving were busy driving outside Bangalore, and possibly enjoying the Bangalore traffic experience there as well.

I had to drop someone at Airport on the morning of 1st Jan. Left HSR at 6:10, dropped them, and was back at home by 8 AM (for those unfamiliar with BLR, this is a 100km roundtrip). Before anyone asks, I was driving in a relaxed manner and didn't overspeed. Also managed to catch a glimpse of the Kempegowda statue around sunrise time and the shimmering bronze made it look absolutely smashing.

A friend was on airport road around lunch time, and they had a harrowing experience due to a political rally. To me, that signaled an end to the blissful traffic free week -- Happy New Year!