Karnataka govt sets 100-day deadline to fix traffic, civic issues in Bengaluru’s IT corridor

Shivakumar assured that mobility and civic issues grappling the IT corridor will be dealt with in a coordinated and collective approach by the civic agencies. “We understand the value IT corridor adds to Bengaluru and we understand the share of tax revenue that the Outer Ring Road stretch generates for the corporation. The ORR stretch doesn’t deserve basic infrastructure but the best infrastructure. Officials of the Bengaluru city police, BMRCL, and the BBMP have given a commitment to solve and reduce the problems of the IT corridor in another 100 days,” he said.

The ORRCA submitted ‘six pain points’ to the government that called for attention to the infrastructure woes of the area. They include the upgradation and maintenance of 22 arterial road networks, the upgradation of service roads, potholes, footpaths, and bus stops, the crackdown on illegal parking, encroachment, and restriction on heavy transport vehicles, traffic management, and enhanced surveillance, fast-tracking of ORR metro and improving first and last mile connectivity and, finally, boosting connectivity through public transport and shared mobility solutions.

Ban on heavy vehicles and reintroducing towing vehicles

The traffic police department has decided to reintroduce towing vehicles only for the ORR to crack down on illegal parking. Bengaluru Police Commissioner B Dayananda also stated that heavy vehicles will be banned on the ORR between 7 am and 10 pm, depending on the vehicular count in tech parks on the given day. Meanwhile, alternative routes will be chalked out for heavy vehicles going to Attibele. However, concerns also prevail with heavy vehicles critical to tech parks and the metro works which cannot be banned. “As a long-term solution, it is important to adopt shared mobility solutions and public transport in order to reduce the vehicle load on the roads,” said Dayanand.

Uber proposes ‘joint bus service’

Cab aggregator Uber has proposed to introduce a joint bus service in partnership with the BMTC or any other private operator through its app in order to boost shared mobility options and encourage public transport in the IT corridor. Representatives from Uber proposed to introduce 10 buses in the coming days on the aggregator platform, which will allow IT professionals to book seats and travel from one point to another on the ORR stretch.

Fixing potholes, improving service roads

BBMP Chief Commissioner Tushar Girinath stated that emphasis will be given to fixing potholes, clearing footpath encroachments, and improving services roads. “Emphasis will be laid on improving service roads until the metro works on the main way are completed. A lot of traffic is diverted to service roads, given the metro works that are underway on the main road. We will also prioritise improving the road infrastructure on high-density corridors which have a greater impact on the public. With a five-year investment framework, we intend to address the infrastructure gaps in a holistic manner,” the officer said.

Pledge to use public transport

Prof Rajeev Gowda, vice chairman of the State Institute For the Transformation of Karnataka (SITK), appealed to the techies to pledge their support for public transport by signing up for the ‘personal2public’ campaign. The campaign is to encourage citizens of Bengaluru to switch to public transport at least twice a week in order to reduce traffic congestion and pollution.

Meanwhile, BMRCL MD Anjum Parvez assured that the missing link between KR Puram and Baiayappanahalli will be connected soon, which will be a major factor in decongesting traffic on the IT corridor.