A clarification is due from my side, where's the limit to this flyovers building? When we can stop?

It is enough for a city if there is full interchange (like dairy circle or domlur) every 10-15 km. And normal flyover or underpass every 4-5km. Figures are approximate.

• favorite 78 Likes
• | login or register to post comments

I think this rule will be lifted by court as unconstitutional.

• favorite 68 Likes
• | login or register to post comments

garage rule will ever come to bangalore?

You are right - it may take time, but the 'announcement' is a start, & planners are beginning to think correctly & understand why congestion increases despite so many flyovers, road-widening, etc & that gives hope for controlling unrestrained traffic growth.

we all become sanyasi's

It's not just car owners that are not 'sanyasis' - pedestrians & bus users are non-sanyasis too. We may have our cars (I have too), but must be prepared to pay costs for adding to the congestion!

• favorite 92 Likes
• | login or register to post comments

I think this rule will be lifted by court as unconstitutional

See you in court then :)

BTW I suggested to the principal secretary post the event that it should be possible to show proof of permenant parking which may or may not be in the same unit as the residence. In Japan you are llowed to pool together get a site and show that as parking. He was fine as long as the planning/approving authorities like BBMP etc stamp it as a permenantly yours space.

• favorite 83 Likes
• | login or register to post comments

TOI (Seethalakshmi) said the same thing as rackstar above, and that is so worrying. In a way, media represents people, and many may feel against the "Disincentives". But at the same time, it is media's job to lead and communicate change. You can see why Times of India may not be able to do it.

Regardless, these things are worth pursuing to closure in courts if the need be. It is high time that public space is maximized for use by the public. Your car, keep it inside your house. Otherwise, pay to park it on the street. Your shop, provide your passengers with space to park, or lobby with city to get more buses and better bus stops near your premises, don't encourage car parking on footpaths and public roads.

Enough is enough. Its our job to convince Bangalore that these things are eventually good for us.

• favorite 89 Likes
• | login or register to post comments

It's compelling again to revisit the illustration on how much street space is required for different modes of travel - cars, bus, bicycles & walking.

Some interesting quotes to help understand issues better :

Parking is not a constitutional right. Governments should not allow pedestrian spaces to be used for parking, & no public funds should be used for parking facilities

PROBABLY 100 YEARS FROM NOW, PEOPLE WILL WONDER HOW WE LIVED IN SUCH TERRIBLE CITIES AS WE HAVE TODAY, WHERE PEDESTRIANS, ESPECIALLY CHILDREN & THE AGED LIVED IN TERROR OF TRAFFIC ON ROADS!
 
It is very simple to have a city with great quality of life: It only has to be designed for people, much more than for cars.
The friendlier to cars a city is, the less humane it becomes.
 
Why all streets for motor vehicles? Why not design a city where half the streets are for pedestrians & bicycles only ?
 
Typical New York roads never had place for pedestrians … & the over emphasis on roads and flyovers is spreading all over Asia, though New York is reclaiming lost pedestrian spaces.
 
Cars on sidewalks, or parking bays where there should be sidewalks suggest that citizens with cars are more important than those who don’t have them.
 
When cars appeared, we should have started to build a parallel road network: One for cars, & the other exclusively pedestrian.
 
Over the last 80 years, we have been making cities much more for cars mobility than for children’s happiness.
 
WHAT EQUALITY POST THE TWO WORLD WARS ? ARE WE BUILDING AND ORGANIZING CITIES TO CONTRIBUTE TO SOCIAL JUSTICE FOR ALL CLASSES ?

• favorite 78 Likes
• | login or register to post comments

This is a good initiative. But, unfortunately in India there is a bypass for every law.

RTOs are a big money making machines right from getting DL to getting Fitness Certificate especially in collaboration with Driving License Schools and RTO Agents.

These guys will take additional amount and can get the parking license granted to you.

If things move without corruption, with a private professional agency providing such licenses, then it is good. Not organizations like BBMP or RTO.

• favorite 83 Likes
• | login or register to post comments

RTO competes with BBMP to be the most incompetent organization in Bangalore today both together accounting for 90% of the problems of the city.

• favorite 75 Likes
• | login or register to post comments

@Naveen, the photo you posted is about theory, but of no practical value. Nobody will buy that argument. There will be all modes of transport.

We immediately need 2-3 underpasses in Hudson circle and Townhall, that will save lot of time for lot of people.

• favorite 76 Likes
• | login or register to post comments

theory, but of no practical value. Nobody will buy that argument

True that it's theory, but almost all planners and decision makers use it abroad to penalise car owners for hogging excessive street space with congestion & road use taxes, & they are also beginning to do it in India (an example is the announcement above).

We immediately need 2-3 underpasses in Hudson circle and Townhall, that will save lot of time for lot of people.

Maybe, as long as the focus is maintained on people (& not cars). 2-3 underpasses is necessary for public transport and pedestrians, not for private vehicles.

• favorite 82 Likes
• | login or register to post comments

Announcements are of no use, that is just to buy time. Do you really think such garage rule will ever come to bangalore? Ithink it will never come, so i'm off this discussion.

"2-3 underpasses is necessary for public transport and pedestrians, not for private vehicles."

Right, we all become sanyasi's. All this car, girls etc are bad :)

• favorite 95 Likes
• | login or register to post comments

New cities going ahead, you want bangalore to go back in time to stone age? Underpasses are the new flavour over flyovers, which dont block the view.

• favorite 85 Likes
• | login or register to post comments

rackstar - I think you mistakenly believe that 'progress' means only big roads, underpasses & automobile related infrastructure development. Well, development also includes many other priorities that cannot be termed 'stone age'.

Nobody says that cities must not have a good road network - they are essential too as long as there are measures to restrain uncontrolled traffic growth, but all Indian cities have been favoring only these types of infrastructure with no control whatsoever & left out all others - this is why we see more & more congestion, despite so many additions. Have you ever pondered over why sidewalks are non-existent or of such poor quality in every city ? Why are there no bicycle lanes ? Why does public transport have to be mixed with private transport in the congestion, though they carry hundreds at a time & cause the least congestion or pollution ?

For your understanding, car based urban development is now viewed as regressive due to the street congestion & the excessive /harmful air & environmental pollution that they cause. Most cities (outside India) have been promoting cleaner & better means of transport, such as metro, BRT, etc. Even America, the country that has long been dependent on cars, is finally taking steps to restrict car use & promote public transport.

In India (& China), we still continue to believe that only cars or private vehicles as signs of development - this is not so. When measures are taken for development, the trend has to be to first address means that are least congesting or polluting & then take care of others, but our priorities being lop-sided, we have been doing it the other way, & this is why we can never get rid of congestion.

Noida may build big roads that might thrill you, but how long will these last before more becomes necessary ?

• favorite 100 Likes
• | login or register to post comments

" We immediately need 2-3 underpasses in Hudson circle and Townhall "

As explained many times here, what will result then is just shifting of the traffic build up..if not at these junctions..Cauvery Bhavan/ Kasturba rd/ Richmond circle etc will get clogged..so actually signals aint bad all together..its just how intelligently we plan around it!

Coming back to garrage discussions..think it will be quite difficult to implement this..on street parking is something that is necessary during the day and un-avoidable..at least in areas with 30X40 size plots..

Best I think is to have permits within zones which are carved out of localities..which should avoid illegal parking of 'tourist' cabs etc in front of ones homes..

• favorite 79 Likes
• | login or register to post comments

Another myth of "shifting of the traffic build up". People think building a grade separator shifts bottleneck, which is utterly false. Instead, one underpass equal to one traffic build up less. Only problem with underpasses is that loops cant be added like domlur flyover.

I think this myth comes free with "flyovers increase private cars in city" myth.

I dont know which part of america is restricting cars? Maybe latin america. Bicycle lanes not required anywhere. Ahmedabad repenting BRT, they could have electric metro instead of diesel buses. I have no more comments.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_congestion_pricing Free market is better than communist controlled market.

• favorite 71 Likes
• | login or register to post comments

The following goals, which are enumerated in the Federal Transportation Policy and Planning Act of 2009, are critical benchmarks for future transportation policy:

- Reduce national per capita motor vehicle miles traveled on an annual basis

- Reduce national motor vehicle-related fatalities by 50 percent by 2030

- Reduce national surface transportation-generated carbon dioxide levels by 40 percent by 2030

- Reduce national surface transportation delays per capita on an annual basis

- Increase the percentage of system-critical surface transportation assets that are in a state of good repair by 20 percent by 2030

- Increase the total usage of public transportation, intercity passenger rail services, and non-motorized transportation on an annual basis

- Increase the proportion of national freight transportation provided by non-highway or multimodal services by 10 percent by 2020

- Reduce passenger and freight transportation delays and congestion at international points of entry on an annual basis

Click here for more details.

• favorite 87 Likes
• | login or register to post comments

Many houses built on 30x40 size plots do make an honest provision for car parking (more for reasons of safety, probably) - they extend the gates few feet out of the plot towards the road to accomodate a major portion of the car inside the house and the remaining over the slabs on the drain.

One idea that can be considered for future town planning is to increase the standard 30x40 plot size to 30x45. A full fledged garage can thus be accomodated in modest 2 BHK houses while still keeping the plot and building cost affordable.

• favorite 69 Likes
• | login or register to post comments