Residents of Cox Town and neighbouring localities have been waging a losing battle for the last six years for a subway at the railway level crossing near Wheeler Road for the convenience of over 5,000 pedestrians who are presently forced to cross it in heavy traffic at their own peril. The subway project, although approved, is believed to have been shelved because of differences between two government agencies. Now, the railways have reportedly proposed a foot-over-bridge at the level crossing, which the residents allege is never manned, like it’ssupposed to be.
Meanwhile, at Yelahanka, the construction of a railway under-bridge at the level crossing was scrambled because of the `680-crore elevated expressway project on National Highway 7. Although designed to ease traffic to the international airport, the expressway has virtually cut off access to a bustling residential locality. And today the only two exit points from Yelahanka Satellite Town see chaotic bottlenecks, one of which is particularly dangerous as it includes a manned level crossing at Allalasandra Railway Gate.
A senior SWR official says the plan now is to have a railway over-bridge here to make it safer for pedestrians to get across. Similar problems dog other level crossings at Koggadaspura in C.V. Ramanagar, Byapanahalli, near Yeshwanthpur, Gorguntepalya, Allalasandra Railway Gate near Yelahanka, ITC Crossing, Wheelers Road, Hessergatta Road, Lingarajpuram, Nayandhalli, Vijayanagar, Malleswaram, Yeshwantpur, Yelahanka and K.R. Puram.