TRAFFI(C)EASE

We have spent enough time and energy reading articles on how Bangalore traffic is going bad to worse, blaming several departments, cursing other commuters & sometimes our own destiny for having to deal with this tyranny every day…
…and we have noticed that none of the above has yielded any measurable results. So is it not time to set our think tanks on fire and take the horse by the reins rather than sit back & wait for others to clear up the mess for which even we are party?
Everyone can play the blame game. For once can we zip our mouth & try belling the cat? To begin with, we can take up the action path instead of being lame spectators while traversing through the city. We can start collecting details at traffic congestion areas to arrive at the root cause of it – photographs, a write-up on the reason, what can be changed for the better etc... can be documented & shared with Bangalore traffic police, so that they take necessary action which may lead to easing of the congestion, at least to some extent. Please note Bangalore Traffic police are easily reachable & are net savvy – search for Bangalore Traffic Police on Facebook. You can share views, post complaints etc.. And there will be response. But permanent implementation of solution requires some on the road action too..
Following are some of the common practices which we can plainly & regularly see as causes for traffic congestion, without having to peep through a microscope:
- Busses are by far the most detrimental. Although public transport is good, & commuters per road space occupied is highest with a bus, there are many loose areas to be worked upon. There are bus-stops at traffic signals & just before or after flyovers. These are sure to create bottlenecks, more so when two or more buses pile up at the stop & instead of queuing behind one another, they tend to stop beside each other with an aim to overtake & thus gather more passengers. This is a perfect recipe for a jam, as two busses side by side are enough to block the entire road. Also we notice most of the passengers at the bus-stop are waiting on the road rather than on the foot-path or the bus-shelter. Accordingly the bus stops in the middle of the road rather than the side, which again blocks most part of the road. Mind it, it hardly takes seconds for traffic to pile up on such a blockage.
o Shifting the bus-stops from potential congestion areas mentioned above by 50-100m can go a long way in controlling traffic pile up. Some examples of such areas are Hebbal flyover, HAL signal, Mekhri circle.. The only inconvenience to passengers would be walking an extra 50 m, which is not a great deal when compared to the benefits
o The bud-drivers can help by stopping as close to the pedestrian walkway as possible thus giving enough rooms for other vehicles to pass by. Constructing bus-bays would be a great idea, but not practical where there is no room for expansion of the road.
- Auto rickshaws can be a big nuisance. Although the space occupied is less, their actions are highly unpredictable – they can slow down, turn or stop at the drop of a hat on spotting a potential client. When this is inadvertently practiced on congested roads, the consequences can be disastrous. Autos parked at bus-stops & traffic signals where the probability of getting a passenger is high is common sight. This makes things worse for the traffic.
- All other private vehicles can contribute to easing the traffic by resorting to car-pooling, following lane discipline and by not blocking free-left turns. All that is required is a good traffic sense.
- Of course there are other parameters which are under the control of the authorities and not the commuters
o Synchronizing the traffic signals so that there can be free flow
o Maintaining pot-hole free roads; The amount of congestion that a small pot-hole or a hump can cause is difficult to fathom.
o The drainage, OFC laying or the recently in news footpath widening activities are good as long as it is completed on war-footing basis. More the delay in completion of such projects, more the torture. The current state of St.Marks road, Cunningham road & Commissariat road are glaring examples.
o India (and Bangalore) benefited by following the PPP way for road construction. But the failure was in the method of toll collection. What is the point of cruising at 80 kmph to reach the toll plaza a few minutes early, only to spend double or triple the time saved, waiting in a queue?
There is nothing radical in any of the points stated above. It is all common-sense. Also some of these are suggested by traffic cops themselves on their Facebook page. But what can make a difference is we taking a stand to do what it takes to ease the traffic & living by it. It can begin as a pilot project by a bunch of motivated people. But taking the benefit to the masses requires the involvement of passionate volunteers, traffic cops, minor changes to rules of the roads, lots of signboards and most of all a drive to inculcate the awareness among the commuters.
Aristotle said “Given sufficient leverage, I can move the earth.” Although the task sounds Herculean, when the whole city is enrolled towards the common cause, nothing is impossible. Everyone sticks to their comfort zone and gives advice. It’s the easiest and the most obvious thing to do.
For the rest whose blood boils at the sight of an avoidable congestion, let’s cease waiting for a revolution to brew up – Let us be that revolution.