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Written By Arun - 22 April, 2009
First the commercial establishments on CMH Road raised their voices, then on Raj Kumar Road. Most of the residents in Vijayanagar were mute and raised no voice. Avenue Road does not like the idea. It will soon be Vidhana Soudha, High Court and Minsk Square that will get altered. KSCA, though unhappy is not worried much since it is quite sometime that they stopped promoting cricket. And now we are on the verge of pushing a part of Lalbagh and the verdant Lakshman Rau Boulevard as part of history. It is really heartening to see people up against the adamant BMRCL which has not been conducting in an undemocratic manner. The wannabe Parliamentarians have had their voices heard too, some reliable some to be trashed instantaneously. I really wonder, what stops BMRCL to go back to the drawing board. Yes, there will be a delay, but let them not forget that any number of BMRCLs can be created, but cannot create one bit of Lakshman Rao Boulevard or Lalbagh. And what approvals are we talking about? It is from our own State and the Union Govt!
A lot could be written to make BMRCL and the Governments understand that they are building the METRO for the people of Bangalore. But it is time that they shed their arrogant behaviour and talk to the people and make NAMMA METRO really count. The often heard ‘…not possible at this stage…’ is not acceptable.
This is one thought provoking suggestion on Hasiru Usiru mailing list by Mr.Nityananda…
‘…all ideas of what to do about the 4th Main (Nanda Rd) when the Metro is built have failed. Going underground is too costly. Going overhead involves cutting almost all the trees. Changing the alignment will involve too much take over of private land.
Here is a RADICAL possibility which I hope can be considered
-Retain the present alignment as it is the logical one requiring no land acquisition, and gives best service to BOTH Jayanagar and Banashankari residents.
-RUN THE TRACKS AT THE GROUND LEVEL FOR THE FULL LENGTH OF NANDA ROAD (4TH MAIN). This has several advantages:
-The trains will not therefore be obstructed by the overhanging branches of the giant trees on 4th Main.
-The added cost of going underground is SAVED.
-The cost and time of overhead viaduct is also saved
-Run the power high voltage rail at ground level on this stretch as in Britain.
-WORLD CLASS ARCHITECTS can design the Jayanagar station to have a rural look and feel at ground level WITHOUT cutting any trees. In fact the tree trunks will be an integral part of the station, just like at any village stn in India!
-Residents of Bangalore voluntarily give up the 4th Main for use by cars / buses / bikes and dedicate this stretch to the preservation of India's environment - giving an example to all of India.
-Road traffic can still be given a few East- West crossings UNDER the Metro tracks at say 27th , 36th and 40th Crosses. This could be funded from the amount saved above.
Hope the BMRCL will suitably respond, as this meets all their technical needs and we ask only the residents of Bangalore to sacrifice a small 2.5 Km stretch of road and we ask nothing of the BMRCL, except some small use of the imagination and a little sensitivity to the environment…’
COMMENTS
idontspam - 22 April, 2009 - 07:30
It is not radical at all. It is logical I would think. Let us make this a PT only street. Magic box can be used to go under.But does this prevent the trees at lalbagh being chopped?
If only this was light rail we could have used the road for normal traffic also since it doesnt use a third rail.
Vasanth - 22 April, 2009 - 07:58
I liked this idea too. I daily cross the Nanda Road and this thought had come in my mind. There are service roads to serve the residents and for main traffic there is Kanakapura Road 2 blocks away and KR Road 3 blocks away towards West.
On the Jayanagar side too (towards East), there are underutilized wide residential roads.
Service roads should be made one way in each direction.
Cost saving of nearly 300-400 crores as well as trees and quicker implementation.
das - 22 April, 2009 - 08:09
Whenever one thinks of Bangalore Metro, one always thinks of Above ground or Underground. How come nobody till Mr. Nityananda thought of At ground ?
The practicalities will have to be studied in depth of course, but at least it's a new idea.
s_yajaman - 22 April, 2009 - 08:38
Always wonder why Metros run as high as they do.
At grade in residential areas is going to be tough. Third rail is a touchy issue (pun not intended). We will have to fence off the route. At critical cross roads (27th cross/ Diagonal Road/36th cross/38th cross/40th cross have pre-cast underpasses cutting across. WIll be great if we can create Bangalore's first pedstrian+Metro only road. As said above there are plenty of roads to use in Jayanagar as alternatives. Most buses on this stretch to KBS and KR Market. WIth NM going there - buses should run EW to feed NM rather than run to KBS and KR Market.
One more option is to go only high as needed. The Metro pillars seem too high (and I am no civil engineer). No double deckers ply on Nanda Road. A bus is 10 ft high. Why do we need to go higher than this for the bottom of the spans? It will save costs as well. Will this save trees?
Srivathsa
idontspam - 22 April, 2009 - 08:29
How come nobody till Mr. Nityananda thought of At ground ?
We at Praja have been discussing that option since ages... please look up the archives. I will post them here if I find those threads.
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