BENGALURU: Ongoing metro construction near the Babusapalya bus stop adjacent to the Outer Ring Road (ORR) has worsened traffic congestion and created daily hurdles for pedestrians. With the demolition of a key skywalk, crossing the high-speed, high-volume vehicles the road is becoming both difficult and dangerous for the public.
Even though the traffic police have installed a pedestrian signal and deployed two personnel to help pedestrians navigate through easily, safe crossing remains elusive.
“We have to wait for nearly 10 minutes for the pedestrian signal to go green. We cannot cross the road even after the green signal, as few of the vehicle users don’t care to stop,” complained Kumar, a pedestrian.
When TNIE visited the area, traffic personnel were seen physically signalling vehicles to stop, in addition to the functioning signal, but many motorists continued to ignore the instructions. It was also observed that the signal was manually controlled during the day and switched to automatic mode during the night.
“I find it hard to cross this road at night after work. Even during the day, when traffic personnel are around and the pedestrian signal is on, vehicles rarely stop. At night, it’s worse, no one bothers to stop, even when the pedestrian signal goes green,” lamented Deepa, a regular commuter.
“BMRCL informed us that their construction would take around six months, which required dismantling the existing skywalk. To ensure pedestrian safety, we put in place a temporary arrangement,” said traffic inspector (Banaswadi) Girish. He added, “After our personnel complete their shift, the manually controlled pedestrian signal switches to automatic mode. We had also installed AI cameras to curb reckless driving, but they had to be removed due to the ongoing construction. We are plan ning to reinstall them soon.”
The Namma Metro Blue Line, currently under construction, will run along the ORR, connecting Silk Board to Kempegowda International Airport.