Commuters on Mysore Road had a harrowing time on Monday after the police attempted to introduce one-way traffic on the stretch between the Gali Anjaneya temple and Kimco Junction, just a day after the newly built bridge over the drain adjacent to the temple was thrown open to traffic.
Motorists were either stuck in traffic jams during peak hour, between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m., or they were moving at a snail’s pace. The Bytarayanapura traffic police were forced to revert to two-way by afternoon.
The police blocked this stretch (the lane towards the city) to traffic from 9 a.m. to 11a.m. and diverted City-bound traffic coming from Mysore and Vijayanagar side towards the metro station on Chord Road, where the motorists took the new bridge and reached Mysore Road.
Vijay Ranga, an autorickshaw driver, was critical of the decision to convert the stretch into a one-way. “The one-way will prevent people travelling towards the city from coming to the temple. Persons with disabilities and elderly people taking autos will have to go up to the satellite bus station and take a U turn to reach the temple. Then they will have to deal with heavy traffic to cross the road to reach the temple,” he said.
However, there were others, who felt happy at the changes. “We use to take the outer ring road to avoid traffic and potholes to reach Rajarajeshwari Nagar. If one-way is implemented on this stretch, we can start taking this route,” said Shiva Krishna, who works near Rajarajeshwari Nagar.
‘Bad planning’
A police official, who did not want to be named, blamed bad planning for the chaos on Monday. “The bridge and the road are not on the same plane. While the bridge and one portion of Mysore Road (in the direction towards the city) are elevated, the other portion (in the direction towards ) is at a lower level.”
This, the official pointed out, has shrunk the width of the road (in the direction towards the city) and that is causing traffic jams. Just about one vehicle can move in the direction as it had almost become a single lane. “At present we are diverting BMTC buses and all heavy vehicles from KIMCO Junction towards the new bridge, but making this stretch one-way would be possible only after the required metro work is complete,” the official said
Meanwhile, Additional Commissioner of Traffic M.A. Saleem said that they have decided to implement the one-way as it was required on the stretch.
“We started this stretch as a one-way on an experimental basis today. Soon it will become one-way. We have also approached the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and asked them to provide a platform for pedestrian safety.”
