One way city

- While the rest of India drives on the left side of the road; Bangaloreans drive on what's left of the road.
- In the rest of India, there's no flyover with a traffic intersection; in Bangalore, they have a traffic signal and criss-crossing traffic atop a flyover.
- In the rest of India, one-way roads mean traffic can only move one way; in Bangalore, there are two ways traffic can move on a one-way road.

It's easier to smile at the above traffice jokes than being stuck in the infamous traffic of the city.My only hope to this madness is that everyone accepts we dont have civic sense.Forget the governing bodies taking any initiatives,we as people have never tried to make a difference coz we just dont seem to have the time.If even a few people try not to be in such a tearing hurry,we could make things more pleasant on the roads.

Keeping my expert comments on one side(we all have something dont we?)...here is a good article on the one way system:

Source:Times of India,Jun 2001(when one ways were put into force on a grander scale)

*Traffic jams, choked lungs and frayed tempers are usual scenes at most roads in bangalore during peak hours. additional commissioner m.n. reddi comes up with a new solution. bansy kalappa studies the roadmap.

1. critics term the one-way traffic system a hare-brained scheme. it is a major plan that has taken months to conceive and execute. we laboured on it for over a year. it is not the idea of one person but a joint effort involving several agencies -- city police, bmp, bmtc, etc. it is based on well-researched findings of several agencies.We are also contemplating some other solutions like flyovers to ease traffic congestion.

2. why has the present one-way system come in for criticism? it has nothing new to offer. bangalore has had one-ways for over three decades. anybody will remember the two-way traffic on avenue road and cottonpet road. look at the ease with which traffic flows in malleswaram due to the one-ways on margosa and sampige roads. one-ways are just one of the solutions to urban traffic management. it is practised worldwide, and successfully.

3. one-ways lead to wastage of fuel as people have to go round in circles. how do you explain people using the ring road though there are shorter routes across the city's central areas? it is a concept that takes people from destination x to destination y faster. as it reduces the stoppage time, studies such as the one made by central road research institute suggest that it helps save fuel at macro levels. for example, it took 15 minutes for the traffic to clear on kempe gowda road when it was a two-way route. now, it is five minutes even during peak hours. it is the same on other roads too.

4. critics say one one-ways lead to high speeds often resulting in fatal accidents. the one-way system is introduced to increase speeds but if people hurtle along like missiles, then it's another problem. we will install traffic signals that act as a deterrent. for instance, traffic signals will be timed such that those approaching it from the previous signal at a speed of 40 kmph will get the green signal, while those zipping at 80 km will be stopped. we also plan to deploy policemen with radar guns to book speedsters.

5. how do you think one-ways will work as the road surface is the same? in a one-way-system, we look at intersection surfaces and not road surfaces. traffic congestions occur at road intersections and not on roads since they are narrow. bangalore has a large number of road intersections -- more than 30,000 when last counted in 1993. this is because of the grid pattern of the city's roads. we believe one-ways reduce the pile-up by half at the intersections. bangalore traffic is a classic case of road overload. every road is laid to take an optimum amount of traffic but with the congestion at intersections, the pile-up increases. junction delays are an indicator of poor traffic management and one-ways are the answer. we plan to have one-ways in the central areas of the city, which means many roads which are two-ways, will be converted. when the rt nagar roads were made one-way, we expected criticism, considering a large number of vips reside there. instead, we received accolades.

6. is the one-way-system `the' answer to the city's traffic mess? one-way system is a part of the larger traffic management programme. it also includes flyovers, intelligent computerised traffic signals and smart enforcement. one-ways will ease traffic congestion by 35-40 per cent and improve average speeds. one-ways have increased average speeds from less than 5-8 kmph to 35-40 kmph. we will also build flyovers wherever necessary. this will ease the problem by another 30 per cent. we have also planned some intelligent traffic signals to measure the traffic volumes and accordingly change the time duration of signals. finally, smart enforcement alone can ensure traffic snarls are minimised.**

A good point of reference for directions on one ways,check the Blore Traffice Police website.