Our City Environment and Development

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Our City Environment and Development Vij
ay Narnapatti Hasiru Usiru
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Bengaluru
issues solutions traffic jam pedestrian
pollution safety tree-cutting
government public spending footpaths quality of
life public transport
What do we see around us?Roads are being
widened, stormwater drains being repaired, metro
rail project underway, bridges, tree cutting,
more signal free roads, more busses, more cars,
few cycles, fewer peple walking, more accidents.
Many people complaining but very few protesting
or acting constructively towards addressing these
problems, even if it happens right on in our
front yard.
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1 What are BBMP / BDA doing about it? Is it
well planned? What are the facts? What are we
losing or gaining? 2 Should we not question
and review their actions before it is too
late? Have they done the right thing for our
localities, our needs?3 What are the
solutions? There time tested alternatives that
are working well in other cities. Has the
government considered them.
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1 What are BBMP / BDA doing about it? Is it
well planned? Doesn't seem like it from what
we know.- CDP, CTTP, etc. What are the facts
regarding the planning/design of
ongoing/proposed projects such as the
Metro/Road widening, integrated traffic plan
etc.? Very little available from the
responsible agencies. Why? Do they have the
facts right? What are we losing or gaining?
Losing trees, public space, footpaths,
character of Bengalooru, road safety, peace,
businesses, livelihoods, etc. Gaining more
road space, river of private vehicles, heat,
pollution, accidents What are we, the
citizens, doing about it all? Very little
real protest, analysis or constructive action.
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2 Should we not question and review their actions
before it is too late? Have the concerned
agencies done the right thing for our localities,
our needs? The drawings and information
from which the planning is done seems to be
substandard and inaccurate. We have reviewed
some of them for accuracy and quality. More of
this is reqd. Trees are being felled on the
basis of these drawings almost 10,000 trees
in the cause of road widening a number that can
change the citys microclimate.Do they have
the numbers right number of cars, number of
buses, etc.? So far, from the information that
we have received from the BBMP and other
agencies shows lack of credible data.
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3 What are the solutions? There are several time
tested alternatives that are working well in
other cities. Has government considered
them? Encourage public transportImplement
trains wherever possibleGive buses priority over
private transport on roads, maybe a BRTS? Promote
offices to ply buses for employees, offer
incentivesEnable buses to travel at greater
speedDiscourage private transportCharge
congestion fee for entering business
districts.Discourage single-passenger vehicles
on certain roads / time periods No parking on
main roads Increase road taxes on private
vehiclesIncrease fees for parking on
roadsDiscourage registration of new
vehiclesMake some roads pedestrian-only. These
and many other measures need to form a
comprehensive policy that can collectively
decongest Bangalore roads.
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Our city is in a crisis our roads are
congested, our trees are being cut down, new
infrastructure projects are being launched with
frightening consequences and little comprehensive
planning. Road widening is the most immediate
action by the authorities. The other is the Metro
rails intervention in the cityscape when it cuts
through the city in its elevated corridor.
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Is road widening necessary?

• BBMP claims that the road widening is essential
  to decongest Bangalore and raise the speed of
  traffic flows.
• But will this actually work?
• Will another lane or two help
• decongest the traffic in the long term?

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road widening proposal Bengaluru

• 140 roads to be widened over a road length of 400
  km.
• These roads fall in all parts of Bangalore city
• Cunningham Road, Kamaraj Road, Uttarahally Main
  Road, Thimmaiah Road, Dispensary Road, Richmond
  Road, Ulsoor Road, Bull Temple roadyou name the
  road its on the list!

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Consider the consequences Trees, shops, houses,
footpaths and vendors, heritage buildings and
landmarks will be taken out for providing
slightly wider roads for more cars. Thousands of
homes and businesses will be destroyed and many
more people will lose their livelihood. More
than 30,000 trees will be cut, some of them 30-40
years old. With wider roads, crossing roads will
be extremely dangerous for the elderly, children
and the disabled. Why road widening is
illogical Traffic is doubling every 5 years. Can
we double road width every 5 years? The
efficiency of road space usage,currently very
low, must first be improved, before thinking of
increasing the road space. The current plan is
illegal, against the National Urban Transport
Policy of the Govt. of India. Each km. of
widening costs Rs. 10 Cr. This money can be
better spent on improving public transportation.
Our Roads, Our City
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Consider this
1500 vehicles are registered in Bangalore every
day, 85 of which are two wheelers and cars. How
long can we expand our roads?
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Is this short term solution worthwhile?
Bangalores Future From Garden City to
Wasteland? The road widening will destroy over
40000 trees, and raise the temperature of
Bangalore by 3 degree celsius! Air pollution,
already 3 times permissible limits, will increase
further. Air and noise pollution is seriously
affecting our health we are committing suicide
if we continue this
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Idhu Yaara Raste?
Who is this road for?
A road may connect faraway places, but it should
not become a barrier for people. What happens to
pedestrians, school children, senior citizens and
the differently-abled?
Consider this On Bellary road, 17 people killed
and 36 injured in 66 accidents in five weeks of
the new airport becoming functional. And this
road has only 5 traffic signals along a 30 km.
stretch!
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Illi Cargalige Matra Pravesha
Only cars move here

• The road widening will affect some of Bangalores
  core market areas like Basavangudi and Avenue
  Road, destroy the livelihoods of thousands of
  traders and the character of the city.

• Dont we need to plan for the street vendors and
  pourakarmikas, who play an important role in
  citys life?

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Is there a rational solution?

• The solution
• Reduce traffic, by encouraging public transport
  buses and discouraging private transport. This
  is the biggest solution.
• The BMTC already carries half the population of
  Bangalore in just 5000 buses, which are less than
  1 of the total vehicles plying on Begalurus
  roads.
• Improve efficiency of road space usage, by using
  coordinated signals, underpasses, better road
  surface, disallowing parking (which takes 25
  space on most roads).
• Introduce frequent shuttle bus service in core
  city area
• Make city centers car free and declare old
  Bangalore areas as heritage sites
• Create Walking plazas in the city on weekends and
  promote walking and cylcling

5000 buses carry 40 of the citys population.
They also occupy far less road space than cars.
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Kasturba Road- The survey drawing
Each road to be widened has trees, shops,
heritage buildings, vendor kiosks, bus stops
besides services to be moved or cut down. A lot
of thought, study and discussion with the
affected people has to happen before any action.
This has not been done, and we have been asking
for this from a long time. Take the case of one
road that is proposed to be widened. Our brief
study reveals the importance of care and
sensitivity in undertaking such a scheme.
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Kasturba Road
Row of Ashoka Trees
The Old Police Station building will be affected
An old large Ficus tree
Large Mango tree cut
Row of Champa Trees
An old Raintree
Large Peepal trees
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• Environment Support Group and CIVIC Bangalore
  filed a PIL (WP No. 7107/2008) challenging the
  legality of the road widening and other transport
  development projects in Bangalore.
• By an interim decision the Hon'ble High Court of
  Karnataka constituted an Empowered Committee to
  review road widening and related urban transport
  projects and to ensure that implementing agencies
  comply with law while also adhering to
  progressive urban planning and design standards
  in project development and implementation.
• We perceive this process as a progressive and
  productive step towards resolving the vexatious
  issues involved in road widening and ensure that
  any such proposal is only implemented in full
  conformity with law and for the larger public
  interest.
• It is critical that you join us in this process
  and participate in shaping the city for a better
  future.

Court Order
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The Metro issues and concerns The Metro will
go above key roads of the city. Buildings along
the metro line will be broken down. Tree-lined
boulevards like the Nanda Theatre Rd. are going
to be destroyed. The metro, 3 years from now,
will carry just 5 of Bangalore's population. It
will take 50 more years to cover the whole
city. Metro stations are planned inside some of
Bangalore's best landmaks like Lal Bagh, and will
be huge, ugly and expensive concrete structures
that will have malls and shopping centres. The
result Homes along the Metro line will be
unlivable in and shops along the Metro line will
have to close down, like those next to flyovers
today. 95 of the population will not have
access to the metro because it is not near them
or is too expensive.
M.G. ROAD 2007
M.G. ROAD 2011
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• The Metro
• The solution
• Build the Metro underground everywhere. It is
  Possible!
• Build the smallest possible stations,
  aesthetically designed.
• Do not wait for the metro as the solution to all
  our problems. It is not.
• Build a good bus system right now.
• Think of how people are going to get to and from
  the stations, right now.

London Underground, the oldest rapid transit
system in the world.
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In general , there are 3 different methods
worldwide for excavating metro channels as
follows
In general , there are 3 different methods
worldwide for excavating metro channels as
follows
In general , there are 3 different methods
worldwide for excavating metro channels as
follows Cut Cover Method N.A.T.M Method
T.B.M Method Cut Cover MethodIn
applying this method of tunnel construction,
initially Geo-technical survey and tests are made
to determine layers and strength of the soil
along the route of tunnel excavation. After
conducting earth-moving and excavation
operations, measures are taken to clear and level
the bottom of the excavated area first and
carrying-out the formwork-operation by means of
sliding-forms (dies), prior to armature working
and finally, the concrete working. This method
was used in the construction of the Tehran metro
and has proved to be quite cost effective and
less destructive.
the Metro construction Some facts about
construction oof elevated rail and undergrond.
At-grade systems are used only outside dense
areas, since they create a physical barrier that
hinders flow of people and vehicle across their
path. This method of construction is the
cheapest, as long as land values are low. This
method is often used for constructing new systems
into areas that will fill up with buildings after
the completion of the line, for instance when
creating new suburbs.
Bridges usually require a larger footprint on
each shore than tunnels. In areas with expensive
real estate, such as Manhattan and urban Hong
Kong, this is a strong factor in tunnels' favor.
Boston's Big Dig project replaced elevated
roadways with a tunnel system to increase traffic
capacity, hide traffic, reclaim land, redecorate,
and reunite the city with the waterfront.
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In general , there are 3 different methods
worldwide for excavating metro channels as
follows
In general , there are 3 different methods
worldwide for excavating metro channels as
follows
Let us not make the mistake other cities have
already made, mess up our cities and put a lot of
effort to rectify the mistakes. Road widening
and the Metro are not going to solve our
problems. The way these have been planned, needs
more scrutiny. It requires a more sensitive
approach to benefiting the city, its people and
future. Involve the public and let us follow the
right procedure.
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these are but two of the large projects that
the government is implementing. There are
several others that are threatening to eat up our
good city lake development, high speed rail
links, park encroachment, concreting of
footpaths, signal free roads, etc. Unless we
are able to look at the work undertaken by the
local before the damage is done, we are quietly
complicit with the mess they are making of it
all?