The trial run of different traffic flow patterns around Commercial Street and Shivajinagar, implemented by the traffic police on Monday, ended up being an exercise in chaos. It was withdrawn in the night.
The aim of the trial run was to provide better access to Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital by making as many roads as possible lead to it. M.N. Babu Rajendra Prasad, DCP (East-Traffic) told The Hindu that access to Bowring hospital was difficult as the roads were choked with traffic. “We want the traffic to flow to Bowring hospital,” he said.
Though the new rules were implemented on Sunday morning, it did not cause a problem as there was less traffic.
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However, traffic management on Monday, especially during peak hours, posed a serious challenge as traffic came to a standstill. There was bumper-to-bumper traffic on Infantry Road, Cubbon Road, Hospital Road, Dickenson Road, Dispensary Road, Commercial Street, Kamaraj Road and Main Guard Cross Road.
On Monday, the traffic police reversed the direction of traffic flow on Dispensary Road (which is a one-way) so that traffic was moving towards Main Guard Cross Road and Hospital Road. The police also allowed two-way traffic on Main Guard Cross Road (where Safina Plaza is located). However, motorists on Main Guard Cross Road could not take a left turn onto Hospital Road, and motorists coming from Infantry Road could not take a left turn onto Main Guard Cross Road.
The police also did not allow motorists from Cubbon Road to turn right at BRV junction onto Central Street.
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B. Dayananda, Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic), said: “Though the trial run was planned with the help of traffic experts to provide better access to Bowring hospital, we could know its effectiveness only when implemented. Monday’s experience showed that the new traffic flow pattern did not serve the purpose. Hence, we have decided to revert to the old pattern. However, such trial runs are commonplace in the city and are needed for effective traffic management.”