A two-year-old report commissioned by Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT) to improve access to Majestic by decongesting the area has been still gathering dust. The report had voiced concerns over pedestrian safety.
The study, conducted in 2013, clearly revealed that pedestrian access to Kempegowda Bus Station was abysmally poor and even suggested corrective measures. But no action has been taken till date. The report, among other measures, suggested separate bus lanes in Majestic area and also building elevated expressways for buses to enter and exit the bus station, providing pedestrians free access at the ground level.
Sanjeev V. Dyamannavar, an activist working for pedestrian safety, said that pedestrians are discouraged from using the foot-over-bridges and subways in the area. “If you want to cross over from one side of the KBS to City Railway Station, you need to use a combination of foot-over-bridges and subways, which will essentially add up to climbing a six-storey building up and down. Aged people, disabled citizens, women and children can never take this option,” he said.
This has led to people ignoring the pedestrian pathways, like in the case of Poornima, and preferring to cross the road, now demarcated as exclusive bus bays. However, lack of enforcement on this issue, is evident on the ground.
“BMTC officials need to deploy personnel at bus bays and guide pedestrians on the grade separators. These areas needs to be forcefully made inaccessible to pedestrians, maybe by erecting grilled barricades, which open up only at the places demarcated for boarding buses,” said traffic expert M.N. Srihari.
