Govt mulls restrictions to check traffic density

With the vehicular population exploding in Bangalore leading to traffic jams daily, the Karnataka government has proposed to introduce various measures.

At a seminar on 'Effective Traffic Management in Bangalore' on Friday, Vatsala Vatsa, Principal Secretary (Home-Police), pointed out that the government did not have any power to restrict the number of vehicles using the city roads. However, the government could evolve various other alternatives, she contended.

One major problem being faced by the residential areas in the city is the parking of private vehicles, including cars on the roadside and pavement. This is basically because of the non-availability of parking slots or garages in the residential structures.

Though the building byelaws stipulate creation of car parking space, they are not adhered to by the property owners. Each residential building has at least two-three houses.

"When every occupant of the house purchases a car, there is lack of space for vehicle parking. This issue has to be addressed," speakers at the meet noted.

Vatsa said the government can direct the inspectors of motor vehicles (transport department) to ascertain whether the potential car buyer has adequate parking space. "This can be ascertained before the transport department registers the new car. But such a measure cannot be imposed as a strict rule. It can be followed as a directive," she added.

The vehicle density in Bangalore has increased in the last five years. The average speed of vehicles in the city during the peak hours is 10 kilometres per hour while that of non-peak hours is 20 kilometres per hour.

In the last six years, the vehicular population in the city has increased from 2.5 million to 3.3 million, including 2 million two-wheelers leading to multiple problems.