A small traffic police change adds 30 minutes to the commute
A Small Change by Traffic Police Adds 30 Minutes to the Daily Commute time!🚦
Bengaluru commuters, especially those heading to the IT hub of Whitefield, know this struggle all too well. While the government had grand plans for the IT hub, one glaring oversight continues to haunt lakhs daily. There’s no direct route from areas like BTM, HSR Layout, Sarjapur, Bellandur into Whitefield. Instead, commuters are forced to take long U-turns, to enter the Silicon city!
One such popular U-turn was near Chinnappanahalli (Jeevika Hospital) on Outer Ring Road (ORR). Despite the narrow lanes, a railway track, a massive tech park, mushrooming PGs, and a maze of one-ways, it is a lifeline for many. Now, the traffic police have closed it, citing congestion on the already clogged ORR. This follows the closure of the Marathahalli Ramp right turn during peak hours, another entry point of Whitefield.
The Result?
A longer, more tedious commute for thousands, with additional kilometers and a significant hit to productivity—not to mention the mental toll of spending extra time on the road. And let’s not forget the environmental and financial impact: more fuel burned, more emissions, but more money in the government’s coffers from fuel taxes, the government is happy!
Couldn’t There Be a Better Solution?
Instead of simply shutting down key routes, what if the city had invested in smarter infrastructure? Take the Marathahalli junction, for instance—land was acquired for the Metro. Land could have also been acquired for a direct ramp to Whitefield, this could have drastically reduced traffic woes for the lakhs of daily commuters. But no, that might require long-term vision and planning, something that seems in short supply.
#WhoCares About Commuters?
The frustration is palpable. While the city’s tech talent fuels its growth, urban planning continues to drag it down. More U-turns, more congestion, more delays—but is anyone paying attention to the daily struggles of the people who drive Bengaluru's economy?
#Traffic #MentalHealth