Reaches 3 and 3A of Namma Metro that were inaugurated on Friday may well improve mass transport and connectivity in Bangalore West. However, people will still have to worry about reaching the nearest Metro station and parking their vehicles.
The authorities are yet to provide parking facilities at the stations and feeder services from the residential areas along the Metro line. Even auto stands are not in place near any of the 10 Metro stations on the newly-opened reaches.
A Govindan, a resident of Srirampuram, said, “The only solace, except near Rajajinagar Metro station, is that one can easily walk to the nearest bus station as the Metro stations are situated along the bus route all through. But, if I have to catch two buses, why should I travel in the Metro?”
The situation is not different in the other five Metro stations - Srirampuram, Kuvempunagar, Rajajinagar, Soap Factory, Yeshwantpur Industry and Peenya.
As there are no parking facilities near Sampige Road Metro station, one has to either park his vehicle at Mantri Mall or on the roads in the residential areas that are situated at a distance.
The situation is worse at Mahalakshmi Metro station, which is close to places like ISKCON Temple, Prasanna Anjaneya Temple and Mari Tirupati Venkateshwara Temple, as the station is situated just above the busy West of Chord Road-Mahalakshmi Layout Main Road junction. Even the service road is busy.
As there is ample parking space at Yeshwantpur Railway station, one need not worry. There is some place for parking near Peenya Industry Metro station too. As Kuvempunagar and Srirampuram Metro stations are situated near traffic bottlenecks on Malleswaram-Rajajinagar Main Road, the area is likely to witness traffic jams.
Infrastructure expert Ashwin Mahesh said, “The problem of creating parking facilities could have been eliminated by providing good feeder services or developing cycle stands and auto stands. The agencies concerned should have foreseen such problems and taken steps to address them. Even the Metropolitan Coordination Committee that was established to coordinate with these agencies is not functioning properly.”
BBMP Commissioner M Lakshminarayana said, “There are some parking facilities at Mantri Mall near Sampige Road Station, Yeshwantpur Railway station and Peenya. We will develop parking facilities on PPP model near other stations if necessary.”