Phase-3 double decker corridor will not ease traffic in Bengaluru: Report
BENGALURU: While the city administrators are trying hard to decongest roads and coming up with several projects, including the 37-km double-decker (flyover-cum-Metro) corridor along the Phase-3 of Namma Metro, the Feasibility-cum-Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the project revealed that it may not help reduce the traffic as expected. According to the executive summary of the report, the traffic flow analysis at junctions between Kadabagere and Hosahalli and along JP Nagar to Hebbal corridor shows that even with the elevated corridor, ground-level traffic does not reduce significantly compared to the existing road. This suggested that the tolled elevated road will fail to relieve existing surface road congestion. Indeed a survey of 1,000 respondents was conducted as part of the DPR. As per it, 78% reported peak-hour congestion between 6 am and 9 am and 48% between 6 pm and 9 pm. However, it was found that 91% of commuters were unwilling to pay tolls for improved road infrastructure. As per the executive summary, traffic projections for the Kadabagere to Hosahalli corridor showed that the proposed elevated corridor brings only marginal relief to ground level traffic in most sections. In 2031, traffic between Kadabagere and Magadi Road would drop from 1,837 to 1,369 Passenger Car Units (PCUs), and in 2041 it would drop from 2,095 to 1,640 PCUs and so on with the other two junctions of the corridor, the summary noted. Similarly, the traffic flow between the five junctions of the JP Nagar to Hebbal corridor showed that the PCUs between the JP Nagar and Sarakki Junction would drop from 2,895 to 2,701 in 2031. And in the year 2041, from 3,465 to 3,222 PCUs. Similar marginal reductions are consistent with the other four junctions of the corridor. Commenting on the minimal effect the double decker flyover along the Phase-3 has on ground traffic, Satya Arikutharam, an independent mobility expert, said, There is no transport case for building the double decker structure throughout the Phase-3 alignment. A tolled facility doesnt remove any significant surface road congestion. And if it is free, it impacts Metro viability. Integrated structures only make sense in short sections where it can make the road network efficient, like Goraguntepalya Junction, he added. Traffic expert Prof Sreehari M N said, Flyovers are not the solution. Anywhere in the world, flyovers have failed to solve congestion. They quickly become uneconomical. He explained that the actual reduction in ground-level traffic is minimal because Bengalurus traffic pressure is highly uneven, with peak and off-peak hours behaving differently. During peak hours, the priority should be to increase the carrying capacity of public transport, not build more flyovers, he said.
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