Elevated corridors, wider roads won't help reduce traffic congestion: IISc prof
Bengaluru: If there is an assumption that the proposed elevated corridor will ease traffic congestion in the city, then it is wrong as vehicular population on city’s roads is increasing at an alarming rate.
Mr Ashish Verma, associate professor, Transportation Systems Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering, IISc (Bengaluru), along with his student, has written a technical article – ‘Level of Service and Sustainability Analysis of Proposed Elevated Corridors in Bengaluru City’, explaining how elevated corridors will get congested with vehicles in the future and will be less useful in reducing traffic congestion.
The only way the city can see reduced traffic is by adopting and implementing sustainable modes of transport and implementing policies that discourage the use of personal vehicles. No corridors or flyovers or road widening will help bring down traffic congestion, the paper suggested.
Prof. Verma told Deccan Chronicle that he and his students analysed and wrote the paper based on the data provided by the Karnataka Road Development Corporation Limited (KRDCL). “Studying the current and future traffic density and vehicular population, it was apparent that the city will be choked and the process is already on. Elevated corridors will not serve the purpose, but encourage people to use personal vehicles. Instead, the government should use the same money to build the Metro Rail system, which will help in coming years.”
He said, “The government should start adopting and implementing ideas which will curb use of personal vehicles. The road capacity cannot be changed, but the vehicle density is increasing. It can never be stopped till possible solutions and policies are implemented.”
The top three high-traffic density junctions in the city are KR Puram, Silkboard Junction and Mekhri Circle. At the KR Puram bridge junction, the total passenger car unit (PCU) is 3,99,578 and during peack hours it is 22,983. The PCU per hour is 5,746 PCU, while the road capacity is only for 2,700 vehicles. Going by the study, if the corridor is ready by 2020 and can carry 7,000 PCU, the vehicle density by that time would have increased and by 2025, the corridor too, will witness traffic congestion. The number of cars being owned by individuals is rapidly increasing.
