Growing need to draw up a traffic plan along with the business model while constructing malls.
Ask residents who are stuck in traffic in front of Mantri Mall on Sampige Road in the evening, especially on a weekday, and they will all highlight one point: Traffic surveys should be mandatory and its recommendations must be implemented when a commercial complex is constructed.
A survey by Cistup, IISc, has recommended various measures to solve traffic woes around the mall, which is located in an area of 2,000 sq ft. In a three-hour period, 8,353 vehicles come to or leave the mall. Of these, 42.5% are two-wheelers, 26.5% cars and 21.5% autos.
The survey noted that all roads near the mall have crossed their provisional traffic-carrying capacities and are battered by traffic flow. Mill Corner Road is oversaturated by 151% and Sampige Road by 137%, despite being a one-way.
Nagappa Road, which is also a one-way, too, is saturated by 97%. Unorganised parking on nearby streets, either due to inadequate space or because people do not want to pay for parking, has added to the chaos. Lack of proper drop-off and pick-up zones for bus passengers has made the situation much worse.
Sampige Road bears the brunt of the inflow of traffic as there are many places where roads merge and split, resulting in bottlenecks. The survey has made various recommendations, including clear and well-positioned signboards to help separate traffic streams ahead of time, a re-engineered traffic island to create an additional mall traffic lane, prohibiting truck movement on Sampige Road during peak hours and shifting the existing bus stops on Platform Road behind the signal. It has also suggested letting visitors know the availability of parking space ahead of time, by using an SMS service and the Web. The recommendations will be sent to the BBMP soon.
Traffic surveys and a traffic plan need to be made along with the business model while constructing malls, said Meenakshi Bharath of the Residents’ Welfare Association of Malleswaram.
“This is the only way we can make sure we have the adequate infrastructure to deal with traffic problems,” she said. “Widening the road is not an answer to the problem. It would include cutting trees as well as eating into the sidewalk space. The problem should be solved through traffic management methods,” added Meenakshi.
With new malls coming up in the city and traffic woes increasing, it only makes sense that one studies the situation before the problems get out of hand, an expert said.
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