The junction below the KR Market flyover lacks speed breakers, zebra crossing and traffic lights which is resulting in dangerous crossing situations for commuters and pedestrians
The junction by the Jamia Masjid in the KR Market area lacks safety infrastructure despite being anactive hub for commuters and pedestrians to cross from one side to the other. Worshippers and school-going children cross over and walk to the masjid to worship and attend their classes and walk to back to their homes, buying food, flowers and groceries along the way.
The roads at either side of the junction have heavy traffic consisting of Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Commission (BMTC) buses, trucks, jeeps, auto-rickshaws and cars. And the only thing regulating the traffic is a blinker and a stop sign.
Pedestrians have to zig zag their way through the traffic in the absence of speed humps, rumble strips or traffic lights to regulate the moving vehicles. The place also lacks any zebra or pelican crossing.
Porters push carts full of steel and street hawkers heft large fruits in their wagons while buses, motorcycles and auto rickshaws zip past them.
Children face the most risks as they are are often spotted crossing the junction unattended while leaving school (Jamia Ul Uloom) located within the Masjid. A child returning from school was busy trying to locate his shoe that had slipped off, in the thick of traffic, with BMTC buses, large cars and motorcycles passing by dangerously close to him.
Shop owners and residents have reported witnessing or hearing of accidents at night, such as Arif, 48, a furniture store owner who stated that he has seen around three accidents in past few months, “Most accidents in this area, take place at night and police officers often come here and take information from us.” Tabish, 26, an eatery worker also confirmed this by stating that he hadn’t seen any accident take place during the day time, “The accidents I’ve heard of take place during the night, I haven’t seen any during the day.”
Ramesh a constable said that the Market City Police Station had reportedly written letters to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) requesting traffic lights, rumble strips and speed bumps to deal with traffic but haven’t received any response.
Assistant Police Commissioner Shekhar has stated that there are discussions and plans underway between the BBMP, the Regional Transport Office (RTO office) and the Police Commissioner to install safety infrastructure such as electric light poles, reflective paint on the median strips, cat’s eyes on both sides of the road and rumble strips, along with high rise dividers.
Vikram Bhatt, Architect and Urban designer, proposed possible solutions, “We could have traffic lights on all four sides during peak hours of crossing, and increase the traffic stopping time on them, and also increase the waiting time for pedestrians.”
He also recommended a subway system for the pedestrians from NR Road to the mosque to ensure smooth traversal with minimal risk of injury, considering the fact that the mosque has many visitors who have to cross that junction.
