GOD IS SPEAKING TO US! 

The delays on the project seem like a God-given opportunity to re-examine the project, and look at better alternatives.  ALAS, WE HUMANS DO NOT SEEM TO BE GET IT!   We need to thank our fate!

The ill-fated Ejipura flyover was and is an ill-conceived project.  It will only result in a 3 KM traffic jam in the sky! 

SUMMARY:

The Problem:  The 3 KM flyover from Ejipura to Kendriya Sadan via Koramangala, is an ill-advised and flawed project, and waste of money, and detrimental to the overall mobility of the city, and destructive for environment.  Alternate mobility modes would be a better fit. 

Comparison of different modes of transport:

• Road: 1,800 passengers per hour per direction (PPHD).
• Metro: 69,000 PPHD, which is 38.3 times the road capacity.
• A metro carries almost 40 times the passengers as a road.  

(Statistics - The Indian Institute of Science (IISc))

Solution:  A rail based metro / mono rail / light rail system, from Indiranagar/Byappanahalli/Vivekananda metro to Silk Board Junction/Hosur Road.

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WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?

The Ejipura Flyover project is a huge mistake.  It is not just ill-advised, as it goes against urban planning and Transport Planning principles, it is also non-plan and non-statutory.  It should never have been taken up by the Govt in the first place.  It violates the Planning laws and HC Orders, which mandate that projects have to part of the Transport Plan of the Masterplan, issued by the Metropolitan Planning Committee.  

Secondly, the thrust of any Urban Planning Scheme has to be promotion of Mass transit.  This project not only promotes more vehicular traffic, it also poses a block in the development of a future metro line in the corridor.  Hence, it is unadvisable. 

This stretch is in the middle of an an arterial corridor, and any solution needs to keep in mind the present and future needs of the city.  If one looks at the map of Namma Metro, one can see a gaping hole in this part of the city, between the congested localities of Old Madras Road, Indiranagar, Koramangala, and Hosur Road. 

 

 

 

 

The lack of a metro here reduces the effective coverage of this part of the city by the Metro, and therefore causes use of roads, increasing congestion and pollution.   A Metro corridor on this road will solve many problems of connectivity; it will also drive residents into adopting public transport, reduce pollution, and also make citizens healthier. A metro line is necessary in this corridor.  It is the missing link.  

This is exactly what the BMRCL & DULT proposed in the Comprehensive Mobility Plan(CMP), and the BDA in its Transportation Plan - Draft RMP 2031.  Both have proposed rail based mass transit options for this corridor.  (see poster below)

 

 

 

 

 

Even the dynamic Special Commissioner of Police - Traffic Dr MA Saleem has recommended a Metro Line along the Inner Ring Road.   

 

 

 

 

 

Going against these expert recommendations and common sense wisdom, the BBMP is trying to execute the ill-advised flyover project, which will permanently damage the Mobility potential of this corridor, by blocking the alignment for any future plan to construct a metro line in this corridor.  

WHY IS THE FLYOVER SUCH A BAD IDEA? 

Apart from being an outdated and harmful concept on its own (the world over flyovers are being torn down), it also blocks the only corridor available for a Metro Line.  The flyover will prevent the metro network from having a high capacity mobility alternative from Byappanahalli/Indiranagar to Hosur Road/Silk Board, one that could decongest this stretch. 

This is the very anti-thesis of city planning! It will waste our city's resources, and instead of solving our city's problem, will create new problems; it will create more congestion and traffic problems than it proposes to solve. 

FLYOVER WILL WORSEN TRAFFIC:

The Flyover will only add to the traffic mess that both these parts of the city witness, cause more pollution, and would further congest the Hosur road.  In all probability, it will also create a 3 km aerial traffic jam, at the same time; it will also increase both air and noise pollution for residents of Koramangala.  It will additionally choke the roads at both the exits of the flyover. 

More importantly, it will rob the opportunity for Indiranagar and Koramangala to have a mass rapid transit corridor which can actually decongest traffic, reduce pollution, and give people a quicker and better option.  It will further encourage bad choices by forcing people to use private vehicles and add to the traffic congestion.  In every way the flyover is an unwise move.

VIOLATION OF LAWS:

What's more, the project is a violation of the laws, where neither the State Govt, nor the BBMP is the competent authority to plan an infrastructure project in the city.  The Govt or the BBMP is not authorised to plan or execute this project.  The ideal mobility solution should come as part of the Metropolitan Planning Committee's Transport Plan, as part of its Masterplan and Comprehensive Development Plan. (74th Amendment of Constitution)

Also, it is a violation of the laws, where an existing RMP cannot be violated by introduction of a non-plan, non-statutory project.

So, until the masterplanning decides what project should be adopted in this corridor, the Govt needs to cancel and suspend this project.  Let it be reviewed by Urban and Transport Planners who are equipped to do so.  Please avoid the use of Politicians and Bureaucrats to do a job they are not equipped to do.  This will wreck our city! 

WHAT IS THE SOLUTION TO THIS MESS?

Primacy should be given to public transport and Mass Transit, so that roads are decongested.  Instead the flyover encourages more private transport and more congestion.  A metro line will solve congestion along the entire corridor: Indiranagar, Koramangala, and have a benign Traffic Decongestion effect on Old Madras road, Old Airport Road and Hosur Road. 

All things considered, it is a blessing in disguise that the project has been delayed so long, it gives the Govt an opportunity to reconsider the mistake, and set it right, by scrapping the project, and asking the BMRCL to build a new Metro line connecting existing Purple Line and the Yellow Line, connecting maybe Byappanahalli or Swami Vivekananda Metro Station with Silk Board Junction, passing via Indiranagar and Koramangala, this is at present a gaping hole in the Namma Metro Network. A metro line will decongest both of these highly crowded population centres and decongest the Inner Ring Road.  

Even if the reuse of the half built pillars are not technically feasible for a metro project, a less heavy mono roil or light rail would be feasible between the metro lines on Old Madras Road, and Silk Board junction. 

Even if one were to go back to the drawing board, the cost of cancellation of the flyover project with a metro line is well worth the effort, and compares favourably to the long term costs the city will have to pay otherwise!  And the additional investment is justifiable.  It will be a small price to pay for the long term savings and benefits.

To spend so much public exchequer money on a detrimental project such as a flyover and to block the possibility of a Mass Transit Corridor, is a huge crime against the city.  Hope the administrators wake up and correct their mistake.  Let the city not suffer due to their ignorance.    

This intervention is essential...

1) to rescue Koramangala and Indiranagar from the congestion on the inner ring road and 100 feet road, as well as Koramangala in general.

2)  to prevent congestion on all adjoining corridors such as Old Madras Road, Old Airport Road and Hosur Road. 

3) to provide mass transit connectivity to Koramangala, Indiranagar, Hosur Road, Old Madras Road, via mass transit, and decongest road traffic in all these areas!  Koramangala sorely needs this metro connect!

A metro line will transport people in a more environment friendly manner, reduce private vehicle use, reduce pollution, and improve the mobility across the city, in a more sustainable manner.  The flyover just does the opposite, it will promote more vehicle use, cause more congestion points, increase noise and air pollution, and prevent better mobility overall. 

Establish Multi-Modal Transit Hubs on the stretch:

In the process, as there will be less road congestion, the Domlur flyover can be brought down, and replaced with a multi-level transit hub: metro station cum roundabout cum multiple bus stops / below the metro line, to provide interconnect between buses and metro.  This could be replicated at Sony signal Koramangala,  Madiwala, Silk Board, etc., these could all be intermodal hubs!

If the Govt for some inconceivable reason is still obsessed with setting up a flyover, at least they need to integrate an option for a metro line. It should consider having a double decker corridor with a metro line and a flyover like it is doing from Ragigudda to CSB.   While it is not ideal, it would at least have an option for a metro line. 

We request the Govt of Karnataka to act immediately, it's not too late!  Please do not permanently curse Koramangala and Indiranagar to a future of congestion and pollution! 

LET'S TREAT THE DELAY AS A MESSAGE FROM GOD, AND LET'S RECONSIDER THIS BAD MOVE!

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Citizens, call to action: ​

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