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Halt massive Bangalore Metro investments, give satellite town connectivity its due first

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Written By silkboard - 19 August, 2013

Bangalore Satellite Towns CRS Complaint BMRCL Commuter rail

Have been reading up on Metro's Phase 2A and Phase 3 plans and few thoughts cross my mind.

  • Longer term sustainable growth of Bangalore depends on how we manage growth of BMRDA region and Satellite areas
  • All the focus is on the central city area (loosely speaking, the region bound by Outer Ring Road)
  • Cost of land, freedom to plan development around a planned mass transit - we are losing on these counts in the peripheral areas as the central city area is taking away all the mindshare and investments
  • The immidiate peripheries are, arguably, already hitting into problems of congestion
  • Options like BRTS on major radial roads (NH7, NH4-East, NH4-West, SH16, SH17), or commuter rail with different charectiristics from that of Metro (stations at longer distance, larger carrying capacity, higher average speeds) along the rail routes heading out of the city are rarely being discussed
  • Mobility thoughts for the satellite areas have primarily focused on roads (Satellite Town Ring Road, Peripheral Ring Road, Intermediate Ring Road etc)

Questions that come to my mind

  • Are we losing the plot as far as future of Bangalore is concerned? 
  • Do we, the Bangaloreans prefer transit corridor based spread out metropolitan area that has cost-of-living spread out evenly across the whole area?
  • Or, do we prefer a more dense, more expensive and more exclusive with time central city area with unplanned ribbon development along crowded radial roads beyond the Outer Ring Road?
  • How do we get the attention towards sustainable people mobility investments in these areas beyond ORR?
  • Or shall we not, and just wait for the unplanned development and higher costs (in future) to dictate mobility choices much the same way we are doing today for the central city area (forced to do the expensive Metro)?

Thoughts that I jump to

  • Metro is "fixing" the chaos of today
  • By ignoring to invest in satellite town / Bangalore Rural connectivity through sustainable options, are we unknowingly creating the chaos for tomorrow
  • Could there be a design paradign like this:
    • Metro only inside Outer Ring Road (with a few exceptions)
    • Cheaper options for peripheries and satellite areas, only because they are still an option. 

And I think of money

  • This way or that way, we, the public would be footing big part of the HUGE bill for Metro
  • If we are not, please enlighten and advise why the same financial wizardry is not being applied to solve other areas too?
  • If we are, then what if we demand scrutiny on the justifications for spending that money on taking Metro beyond Outer Ring Road when cheaper options exist today, but may not exist tomorrow (which is when Metro ?

Is there a way we can use

  • The plight of peripheral areas (no mobility plans in place or in action for areas beyond ORR), and 
  • Poorer people being forced to live farther and farther down the city, and being forced to spend hours to commuter to their workplaces

... to ask for

  • A pause on further Metro investments, till ...
    • we get a clear answer on - who is responsible for growth of larger Bangalore (BMRDA area, Bangalore Rural, Satelite Areas)
    • state government stops discriminating against these areas in terms of planning and investment on mobility

I don't know what we can action on this, if at all we can. But stirring a debate to scrutinize Metro Phase2A and Phase3 costs with this angle shoul dbe possible.

Yes, I sort of understand some of the terms that may come up - demand based planning, growth projections, gestation periods, high capex, gestation period etc etc. But I do know this too, that whenever you think of or plan for future, there are assumptions, biases as well as creativity in whatever models you create for justifying, planning and funding projects. My bias, if I may, is towards better sustainable, cheaper to build and operate options for mobility, and done in ways that would shape Bangalore of tomorrow, and not wrap around the amoeba that our satellite areas are turning into as we sit on approving some really large money projects.

cheers,

SB aka Pranav

COMMENTS

Don't think we are late, and I feel its not an either/or situati

silkboard - 20 August, 2013 - 06:22

Thoughts on thse lines
  • Metro within the Outer Ring Road bound area - the mobility fix for this relatively more dense area
  • Cheaper, faster to implement options for connecting larger Satellite area 

What is the driver here?

  • It is not the "Metro" vs "Cheaper options for Satellites" areas debate.
  • Is anyone planning Satellite mobility yet? It is time, we may not be that late yet.

And if the plan happens to be Metro itself again, that too is okay, however"

  • Please justify costs and reasons for overlooking other options that may be cheaper
  • If justification exists, that too is okay. Good. But then, please focus Metro Phase 2 on Kengeri, Hoskote, Doddaballapur, BG Park inwards, do justice to satellite connectivity by putting a plan and money on it

Shape the city, manage its growth. Don't be at the tail, always behind and in "fix" mode all the time.

And then, only way to force such thinkig that I can think of is protest over these super huge Metro investments. Or else we may not make the headlines.

I am taking a stance

idontspam - 20 August, 2013 - 06:34

I second the thoughts of stopping Phase 2 of the metro with a pre-escalation estimated cost of 26,000 crores. It can give you 400kms of commuter rail 3 times over at the current estimated cost.

GoK, give people a reason why commuter rail is not being done & then move ahead with whatever else you are doing. Let people then be the judge.

I am definitely taking  a stance against the metro till such time the commuter rail is put on stream concretely & not just in words. I will also support any activity which will go against the metro as I believe it is prioritizing a few rich people first over the broader population.

DULT's BRT on ORR?

srinidhi - 20 August, 2013 - 08:33

Thought that was some good initiative that DULT had taken to try get BRT on ORR from Silkboard to Hebbal..last I heard of it was in 2010 where BDA was getting the DPR done for it..no news after that!

Is it that talk of metro ph 2a and 3 scuttled the BRT plans? Since the stretch on road is anyways signal free, I was thinking the LRT at grade option can be looked into on the same BRT tracks, as they offer advantages  including cost, over BRT

Btw where is the Ganapathy temple that is being referred to in the BMRC communique?

Investment in METRO becoming a factor!

kbsyed61 - 20 August, 2013 - 15:07

Sri,

You are absolutely right. DULT's BRT proposal for Bangalore was shelved citing investments made in the METRO for Bangalore and in balancing act the previous Shettar's govt took the BRT project to Hubli/Dharwar. This is a confirmed news from DULT sources.

METRO may not be directly responsible, but its huge investment requirements are making cash strapped governments NOT to pursue other equally important projects for the city. In effect, other cost effective solutions are becoming victims of METRO investment needs.

Time to call on the planners, politicians to sit back and judiciously decide what the city needs are and how best it can be met. Let not one fancy project ruin the other ones.

Good points

idontspam - 20 August, 2013 - 05:45

We are late, but, whether or not we choose one model over the other, we have lost the plot on 2 counts. One that there is already an economy which ties in the sattellite brownfield towns you cant walk away from. Two that ribbon development & lack of zoning is only pushing this into a crisis. Answer 2 both is to attack them simultaneously, not one or the other.

Build commuter rail & control zoning along the corridors, dont allow sprawl in the form of ribbon development along each & every road/transport infra that is being built. Follow the concept of street categorization & make them function as per the definition. Develop/Redevelop areas to ensure spatial geometry allows for open areas & mixed use along specific categories of roads with public transport. Break up BMRDA region into multiple corporations & decentralize with clear zoning & plan guidelines.

GoK get your f****** town planning act together. You cant sleep on the job anymore. Dont think you know everything, or need have ALL the people inhouse, ask a wide variety of people & come to an informed conclusion. DO IT FAST. 

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