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Namma Raste, Namma Ooru

Our Roads, Our City

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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 rail’s 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 road……you name the road & its on the list!

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Consider the consequencesTrees, 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 illogicalTraffic 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.

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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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Bangalore’s 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

Is this short term solution worthwhile?

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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?

Idhu Yaara Raste?

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!

Who is this road for?

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Illi Cargalige Matra Pravesha

• Don’t we need to plan for the street vendors and pourakarmikas, who play an important role in city’s life?

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

Only cars move here

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OoruIs there a rational solution?

5000 buses carry 40% of the city’s population. They also occupy far less road space than cars.

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 Begaluru’s 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

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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 resultHomes 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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Ooruthe Metro – construction

Some facts about construction oof elevated rail and undergrond.

In 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.

In 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.

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.

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 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.

In 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.

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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What can you do?

Join us for the Community Walk!!!

Streets are for people!

Come to LalBagh West Gate on Sunday November 9th 2008, at 11:00 AM.

We want to participate in the planning of our cities and

we can!!

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What can you do?

Join us for the Community Walk!!!

Streets are for people!

Come to LalBagh West Gate on Sunday November 9th 2008, at 11:00 AM.

We want to participate in the planning of our cities and

we can!!