In a city getting crowded by the day, MG Road once provided relief. A long, broad stretch with a pretty boulevard running partially down its length, it was Bengalureans’ pride. Shopping and sipping tea or coffee in the outdoor cafetarias dotting the road was a treat many looked forward to. Cut to today and the road is a sorry reflection of what it once used to be. Cluttered, dark, and potholed with eyesore dividers that do nothing to help its ambience, it is the best example of what authorities can do to destroy in the name of development.

With precious space eaten into by the elevated tracks and stations of the Metro Rail, MG Road is congested and its six badly synchonised signals between Trinity Circle and Mahatma Gandhi Park only add to the chaos. “Lack of planning, the failure to consult traffic experts and delay in execution of the mass transportation system is responsible,” says former principal of the BMS engineering college, Prof H.R. Vishwanath.

While the traffic police have failed in integrating the traffic signals for smooth movement of vehicles during peak hours, parking on MG road makes life difficult for commuters every day as there is little driving space available, he observes. The Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation (BMRCL) Ltd, which is responsible for much of the condition of the road today, has done precious little to set things right so far. In fact, the delay in construction of the concourse in place of the Plaza theatre is obstructing free flow of traffic on MG road, especially during peak hours, Mr Vishwanath points out.

“Once the concourse is built, those using the Metro Rail will be able to get to the pathway on the other side of the road and Church street without any hassle. But currently they are forced to cross the road, stopping the traffic in the process,” he deplores. Also the BMRCL which had promised to restore the road after completion of Reach 1 has hardly made a difference. “The sloppy work done by the agency is exposed whenever it rains as the road beneath the stations becomes a pool of water. Unfortunately, the shoulder drains which provided an outlet for rain water have been closed,” Mr Vishwanath adds.

The BBMP too is guilty of neglecting the road as its TenderSure plan to provide a smooth ride for motorists by clearing the unscientific bumps and potholes is still a distant dream, note traffic experts.

No parking, only chaos
Driving to MG Road fills most people with dread as they usually need to circle the area a few times before they can find parking. Mismanagement, shoddy planning and dearth of funds in the BBMP has left the Central Business District starved for parking and MG Road most of all, as it attracts hundreds of people every day. The shortage of parking bays invariably results in chaos on the road.

Even before Namma Metro arrived to add to the confusion, the civic authorities planned to convert the angular parking on the road to parallel parking. The decision proved to be wrong for a growing city like Bengaluru. “The change from angular parking to parallel was a bad idea as the former could accommodate 150 cars and the latter only 70. As a consequence, double parking became the trend, leading to traffic bottlenecks and slow movement of vehicles, inconveniencing pedestrians crossing the road,” says Brigade’s Shops and Establishments Association (BSEA) secretary, Suhail Yusuf, adding, “If you say that roads are meant for driving and not parking, where is the infrastructure to provide parking? Parking was removed from 83 roads and now there is no parking space available anywhere.”

Although the BBMP has planned to build multi-level parking lots, he believes this is not the solution when the civic agency is facing a funds crunch. Moreover multi-level parking lots can accommodate a maximum of 1200 cars, he points out. “If multi-level parking is the solution, how many can BBMP build? Where is the land and money? Also, how much time will each project take? The BBMP’s joint ventures have flopped in the past. Garuda Mall is the best example. The site was supposed to be used only for parking but the BBMP went in for a joint venture instead to create a mall and parking space. Now the mall is hogging the plot and there is no parking space left,” Mr. Yusuf notes.