By Qamar ZJ
The bus priority and cycle lanes coming on the Outer Ring Road linking KR Puram and Silk Board are inviting mixed reactions from citizens. Now, the transport agencies are conducting a safety survey to understand your pain points as a resident, bus user, or cyclist. If you use this stretch and have many things to share, you can take the survey right here. Besides, the agencies are looking for volunteers who can do in-person surveys of the underprivileged (livelihood cyclists) in their neighbourhoods who use cycles as their primary means of transport. The idea is to understand their travel patterns and challenges to make the streets safer and bicycle-friendly. If you want to register as a volunteer, you can sign up here.
An initiative by the Bangalore Political Action Committee (B.PAC) and the Mahadevapura Task Force, this is being done in coordination with the Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT). The idea is to ensure the success of the bus priority lane and cycle lane between KR Puram (Lowry Memorial College) and Silk Board. The idea is to get the two-wheeler riders opt for cycling and car drivers to opt for buses. Will they make the shift depends on the time saved, and the last mile connectivity. While it’s difficult to estimate the time saved during the COVID times, it’s better to forecast the pain points and address them now than later. Therefore, if your suggestions can make things work more smoothly on these lanes, it is your duty to be part of this survey.
“This survey on safety is to encourage participation and citizen involvement on these key projects,” says Pooja Patel, research associate, B.PAC. “So far, we have received 300 responses and are expecting about 1000.” While the bus lane is completely ready and the cycle lane is getting ready, the agency wants to future-proof the pain points and understand the concerns right away. “We want to remedy the issue along with the infrastructure, such as provide adequate street lighting to prevent chain snatching, and so on.”
Almost 34 kms of pop-up bicycle lanes are coming up on the Outer Ring Road (ORR) between Silk Board junction and Lowry junction near KR Puram. These are being designed and executed by DULT in coordination with all the other government agencies. The 18-km bus priority lane is being executed by the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC).
Citizen participation is stressed for public works like these. Now that the authorities are willing to listen, it’s time for the residents to have their say. Every feedback counts. Make yours worth it.
