Roads shrink, traffic chaos grows

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Bengaluru: Increase in vehicles on city roads coupled with infrastructure work that has shrunk road width has resulted in traffic jams on city roads. According to a study by the Traffic Engi­neers and Safety Trai­ners (TEST) institute, roads such as Bann­erghatta Road, K G Road and Residency Road are carrying traffic that is double the road capacity.
Prof M.N. Sreehari, a traffic expert and founder chairman of TEST, said that the study was mooted after speed levels on many city roads registered a drastic fall. “For instance, the maximum speed of traffic around Vidhan Saudha and other parts of the central business district is just 8-10 kmph due to increased bottlenecks. This is mainly because of the increase in the traffic volume on the roads which have not been widened for many years,” Prof Sreehari said.
The Indian Road Congress (1996) guidelines say an arterial road can have a capacity of 1,110 passenger car units (PSUs) per hour, but the actual traffic density is much more than that.
“The major problem is that infrastructure in the city did not grow in proportion to the increased human and vehicular population. The present road conditions are such that even arterial roads are not utilised to their maximum capacity. Close to 40% of road width has been taken up by parked vehicles. Ongoing construction of infrastructure projects on major roads has further congested the city roads,” Prof Sreehari said.
Admitting that the volume of vehicles on city roads has increased manifold, Mr M A Saleem, additional commissioner of police (traffic), said that the police are finding it hard to manage traffic. “When the road width is decreased due to ongoing work, how can vehicles move without congestion? The traffic police in the field are having a difficult time due to the construction work. We must wait until the major infrastructure work is completed,” Mr Saleem said.