Residents who live in and around Iblur are always vocal about the issues in their locality. Be it the bus lane, cycle lane, or claiming footpaths, they fight for their problems. However, a conversation with them reveals that most of their problems originate because of the notorious traffic jams at the Iblur junction. The traffic here has gotten the authorities’ attention too, as it has been identified as one of the seven problematic junctions.
Existing problems
This junction is an intersection of the Outer Ring Road (ORR) and one of the biggest IT hubs in the city, Sarjapur Road. The problem begins almost a kilometre before, from the Sarjapur fire station and then at Haralur junction, which is just 500 metres away, eventually leading to the creation of a traffic choking point at Iblur junction.
This might also be a one-of-its-kind point in the city where travelling from Haralur junction to Iblur junction in a vehicle takes half an hour when offices and schools are done for the day.
On the other side (towards ORR), the arduous journey begins from the flyover near Agara lake, which is not a levelled road. At peak hours, the vehicle lines go beyond Agara sometimes, which means that motorists are stranded for at least 20 to 30 minutes in traffic jams. During the daytime, there are also petty shops along the footpath, where people make stops and occupy a part of the road, cutting down on the space for vehicles. The work for metro has invariably worsened the traffic situation.
This junction also has the reputation for having the same kind of traffic volume for at least 15-16 hours in the day. The pedestrians here struggle to get from one side to the other, like in any other busy junction. The lone skywalk does not help them much.
After inspection
Not much has changed at the junction after the inspection as no work has begun yet. The redesigning of the two islands in the middle of the junction to enable smoother flow from Sarjapur Road to ORR might bring some kind of relief, but commuters and the residents here demand an integrated traffic solution for both Haralur and Iblur junctions.
“Especially in the mornings, there is a block from Agara lake to Tin Factory. I have sometimes spent over 40 minutes at these signals. I don’t know what can be done here as huge crowds move in and out due to IT companies. ”Sharavana,auto driver
“I have been here for 12 years and the traffic has only kept increasing. There is no break at all no matter the time of the day. Officers inspect and leave, but so far, nothing has been done to help this junction. ”Sunitha,shopkeeper
