BENGALURU: From pensioners’ paradise to Garden City, Bengaluru has now got the moniker of traffic city. With a massive increase in IT firms, bringing with them a huge influx of people from all over India – the result has been traffic problems. Social conversations often revolve around this woe, and passes as an easy excuse of running late
Silk Board
Think traffic, think Silk Board junction. One of the most notorious bottlenecks in the city, commuters going towards Electronics City and Outer Ring Road, the hub of IT firms, are ready to hit the wall. “Crossing the Silk Board junction in 30 minutes is no less than an achievement. I need to wait 30-45 minutes to cross Silk Board traffic signal every day,” says Ranganathan Swamy, a commuter.
MG Road
The Central Business District of the city, MG Road is a menace for commuters on weekdays and weekends. According to traffic cops posted in the area, the travel time has now increased to at least 25 minutes from 10-15 minutes. No surprise here then that vehicles commuting on this stretch screech to a halt for long periods.
Sankey Road
If you want to get past the Sankey Road traffic, walking might be a quicker option than riding or driving. “Everyone is in a rush but that’s not possible on this road. The traffic here can really bog you down,” says an official from Bengaluru Traffic Police.
Hebbal
A nightmare for every commuter, the Hebbal flyover is a two-lane road where traffic from the international airport, Yelahanka, Kodigehalli and Tumkur road converge. While the route is choked through the day, it only worsens during peak hours. “I get stuck on this flyover for almost an hour every day. Buses here crawl through the endless traffic,” says Smitha, an IT professional.
ITPL
If you’re one of those who traverse this route on a regular basis, you have every right to be frustrated. One of the worst traffic-hit areas in Bengaluru, ITPL – with a large number of IT companies situated here – is where a Bengalurean spends an average of 94 minutes. “It’s painstaking to travel to and fro on this stretch. Which is why I have been planning to change my job,” says Selvan K.
Peenya
Covering 2 km on this industrial area stretch takes 40–45 minutes.
The problematic hours are between 7.30am and 9.30am owing to housing societies and industries situated right on the main road. “The road to success is always filled with obstacles but often these obstacles exist
on the road to our office,” Ameeshee Raghunanda, a resident of Peenya, says with a laugh. “It’s clear that with growing economic development in the city, more vehicles find themselves on the roads. Traffic congestion is a problem not just for individual commuters but for businesses as well,” says Raghunanda.