Incessant traffic jams, roadblocks, bottlenecks, non-stop honking – All this has now become a part and parcel of the life of an average Mangaluruean. Is there no solution to this mayhem? Ashwin S tries to decipher this tangled mess.
In the past couple of months, Mangaluru has been trying hard to attain a smart city status, what with digital LEDs installed by the traffic police to display key parameters such as live traffic condition, estimated time of arrivals (ETA) to major points in the city, traffic rules and general announcements including weather and pollution. The long awaited footpaths that the pedestrians were demanding ever since the city opted for concretization is finally coming to fruition at most places across the city. Additional traffic lights have been installed at major junctions. Despite all this, the traffic situation off late has gone from bad to worse.
Do we need traffic lights?
This is probably a million dollar question that is on everybody’s mind. Mangaluru had for a long period of time managed smoothly without the need for a traffic light except at major junctions in the city. However, with a massive rise in population, the vehicular conditions on the road have worsened, prompting the need for the regulation of traffic.
“We don’t mind co-ordinating the traffic by ourselves, but the issue is that when people notice there are no traffic lights, they just keep going without looking at our manual signals. Some of them complain that they are not able to see us giving the manual signals and hence jumped the signals” says a traffic constable deployed at the busy Lalbagh junction in Mangaluru.
That doesn’t, however, mean that the city is entirely reliant on traffic signals. Several junctions have been at the forefront of non-signal trials including the KSRTC one and the Milagres one. While the former remains a hit and miss, the latter has largely been successful. Certain sets of citizens though aren’t pleased. “Why did they spend so much public money and put up traffic lights if they don’t use them anyway? Who is responsible for such wastage of resources?” are pertinent questions from the concerned public that the authorities have failed to answer.
A mind of their own
Despite having several traffic lights in the city, they are seen to be operational on a whimsical basis with erratic timings. At times, during peak hours, the lights are off, putting immense pressure on the traffic police personnel stationed there. Occasionally, the display is messed up with random readings of numbers, thereby confusing the motorists. Some of the traffic lights installed in the past years are yet to see the light of the day (pun intended) when it comes to being operational. Requests for information on why this happens went unanswered at the senior level and constables on traffic duty refused to comment on the matter.
Maintenance Mayhem
Installation of traffic lights is one thing, however, maintenance is a totally different ball game. Luckily with the upgradation to LED technology, the need for replacing faulty lights is lower, but the circuitry issues still persist. Some traffic control boxes are left vulnerable to the rains, causing short circuits which mainly affect the timing display. Most places presently do not show the timer with regard to how many seconds the light will stay on. A traffic constable speaking on the condition of anonymity stated that this was due to manual operation, rather than technical challenges. His answer, however, did not seem too convincing.
Lightening the load
Do traffic signals actually help? Or is free-flowing vehicular movement the solution to our transit woes? Opinions are mixed on these questions, but whatever the case is, life goes on with adjustments on either sides. The ones in favour of doing away with traffic lights cite the example of the Milagres junction where traffic flows smoothly without interruptions or signalling from the cops. In fact, it has become a completely unmanned no-signal junction now. The ones in favour of traffic lights, however, cite the constant issues plaguing the Bunts Hostel and Jyothi Theatre junctions, where every day is a new block to behold.
In this case of the latter, the traffic police agree that they are having a tough time managing traffic at these junctions, as they are short-staffed. However, they say that operating the already installed traffic signal is not going to make things any better, as the road in itself is too small to handle the large and constant influx of vehicles. “We have tried keeping the signals operational, but it causes more harm than us managing traffic manually. However, at least 4-5 constables are needed here to ensure that people don’t jump the manual signalling.” said a constable on duty.
“Arterial roads are the key. Unlike Bengaluru which was developed with proper planning, Mangaluru lacks alternate routes to reach the places of your choice. Had there been any other way to reach Attavara from Karangalpady, I’m sure half the traffic would have reduced on the main road” opines Narahari, a professor at a college in the city.
The district administration has on multiple times stressed on the need for public to adopt friendlier modes of transport including bicycles, walk and buses, but has failed to provide the necessary amenities to ensure smooth transition from private vehicles to public transport. Last mile connectivity is one of the concerns, but the main issue is the lack of proper unhindered and unobstructed footpaths and dedicated bicycle/two-wheeler lanes.
Footpaths are now being constructed as a solution to the menace of people walking on the roads, but who is responsible for the vehicles parked on the road with scant regard to traffic rules, thereby obstructing the flow of traffic!
“I don’t use the footpath, because I don’t see the point. Every fifty metres, there is some obstruction or the other, so I have to get off and get back onto it. It is such a waste of time. I would rather walk on the concretized roads. Anyway footpaths have now become two-wheeler express lanes!” says Gayatri, a pedestrian who I met near Ballalbagh.
Google to the rescue?
Leading the way in modern traffic management solutions, however, is an area in Bengaluru rightly called Electronic City. Although the area often sees high loads of traffic, help has come to them in the form of a solution from a leading tech giant, none other than Google!
Plagued by constant traffic woes, the Electronics City Industrial Township Authority (ELCITA) took up the task of studying different technologies available across the world. This is when it came across the Dynamic Signalling technology, which uses Google Maps live data to measure the volume and speed of traffic so as to dynamically regulate the settings of the traffic lights.
This works with a simple principle of collecting traffic congestion data from Google maps, which would be linked to the signalling system. Based on the data, the system calculates the approximate time required for traffic to move in a particular direction, and thus giving the green signal for that direction for that amount of time. The LED timer display shows the number of seconds the traffic would be allowed to pass. Post this, the orange/amber light would blink for 3 seconds before switching to red. However, the LED timer will not show any display when in stop mode, as this time period is dynamic and subject to change based on traffic.
So then how do the commuters know when to switch on the ignition? Well, similar to the amber blinking prior to the red signal, the amber light would blink thrice when the signal is about to turn green. This gives the waiting commuters enough time to rev up their engines and hit the accelerator pedal.
As these signals are interconnected with optical fibres, there is minimal manual interference needed and everything can be controlled from a central command centre. This technology has been implemented in many foreign countries including US and Germany. However, this is the first time it is being implemented in India! Bengaluru is rightly called the Silicon City, ain’t it!
Technologically impaired Kudla?
While Mangaluru currently has only the automatic signalling system (which is by far the most outdated system), Bengaluru has 3 types of systems – the Automatic, Adoptive and RLVD signals. For the automatic signalling system, the timings are pre-programmed and synchronised based on the peak and non-peak hours. In case of emergencies or heavy congestion, there is a provision for the traffic cops manning these junctions to switch over to manual mode and regulate the traffic as necessary, using the control units at the base of the poles.
“Manual signals are ideal at junctions where the traffic flow is less. However, in high congestion areas, automatic signals work better because during manual signalling, the traffic police tend to allow one side of traffic to be completely cleared before they allow the next one to move and by then, the congestion would have increased on other roads, thereby causing a block on the arterial roads as well.” says a traffic management expert.
The other technology which was introduced a couple of years back in Bengaluru is the RLVD system, which stands for Red Light Violation Detection system, which has an in-built camera in the traffic signal pole, which identifies vehicles that have jumped the signal and automatically reads their number plates and registers a case, with no human intervention needed. The Bengaluru Traffic Police (BTP) website’s public notice on RLVD adoption reads “Red speed enforcement camera click photos of motorists who jump traffic signals or cross the stop line or exceed speed limit. Violators are sent challans through Automation Enforcement Center within 7 days.” This has been implemented successfully at many junctions in Bengaluru including these 10 key junctions, so traffic offenders in Bengaluru beware!
1) RLVD Cauvery Arts and Crafts Junction (MG/Brigade Road)
2) RLVD Basaveshwara Circle
3) RLVD BMTC Shantinagar Junction
4) RLVD Adugodi Junction
5) RLVD ASC Center Junction
6) RLVD TC Palya Junction
7) RLVD Ejipura Junction
8) RLVD Deve Gowda Junction (PESIT)
9) RLVD Naganathapura Junction
10) RLVD NES Junction Yelahanka
Time to adopt the Adoptive tech!
The other technology in place in the city of Bengaluru is the adoptive technology, which is among the most modern technologies in use presently. This uses lasers and density cameras to identify and regulate traffic flow in directions that are experiencing crowding. The latest implementation of Google Maps data to this adoptive technology has resulted in the newer Dynamic signalling technology, which is being trialled at 6 junctions of Electronic City. Once these trials are successful, it would be implemented across entire Electronic City, and later in consultation with BTP, probably at other places in Bengaluru.
Speaking to the media about this experiment, Rama NS, the Chief Executive Officer of ELCITA said “We have now introduced this technology in West Phase at the SBI (Toll) Junction, Siemens Junction, Paramount Junction and Wipro Junction in synchronised mode and at RS Junction and Oterra Junction in stand-alone mode. Earlier, we had the regular automatic signals, which are now replaced with ‘Dynamic Signalling’. Out of the total 16 signals, we have also introduced 13 Automated Traffic Signalling (ATS) Lights in West Phase, among which, six of them are ‘dynamic’. During peak hours one, rightly spends some time at the signal but, during non-peak hours, waiting at a signal is a waste of time, due to a pre-programmed system. Our objective is to reduce this time and to accurately measure the amount of time required to cross without causing inconvenience to the commuters, using the Google mapping technology”.
While this may seem too advanced and complicated for a city like Mangaluru, a traffic management expert I spoke to thinks otherwise. “In reality, the model is easier to replicate in a smaller city like Mangaluru as opposed to a huge city like Bengaluru. Mangaluru has maybe around 100 signals operating across the city at a maximum. These can easily be interlinked through a fibre optic network and synchronised with maps data to deliver a seamless experience. When cities are in contention to be tagged ‘Smart Cities’, these are future-ready steps they need to undertake before the situation gets out of hand.” he says.
Will Mangaluru be open to the change and ready to adopt traffic signals that would actually help, rather than becoming random metal structures lying unused? Only time will tell…
Vox Populi
As usual, I spoke to the citizens about what they feel regarding traffic lights and the traffic woes in general. Here’s what some of them had to say:
“I am basically from Mangaluru, but I’m now living in Electronic City due to my IT job. I happen to pass by this signal on a daily basis, and I must say it has actually reduced the traffic jams at this junction. I now spend about 40% lesser time at the signals here as opposed to earlier, when I had to wait for 3 red signals of 180 seconds each to turn green to pass through the block. Now with the synchronization and congestion based signalling, I am able to pass through 2 junctions with 3 red signals,” says Amith Shetty, a software professional.
“If you go to see the ground reality, there is nothing called excess traffic in Mangaluru. The roads are wide enough to accommodate traffic at any given point. However, it is these dividers and long waits at traffic signals which are again not synchronized that causes all the problems. Just notice the days when ALL the traffic signals are turned off, the flow is so smooth. However, even if a single signal is put up, the entire city goes haywire.” says Dyuti, a college student.
“Dividers are a huge headache, especially near PVS-Bunts Hostel Road (Kudmul Ranga Rao Road). The roads are so narrow and the dividers again eat up more space. Buses stop here for long periods which blocks traffic further. Even though one side of the road is completely empty, the vehicles are not able to go onto that side and overtake the buses or other slow moving traffic. This, in turn, results in bigger jams in all the connecting roads.” opines Narayana Prabhu, a senior citizen who drives a car.
“I wish they could do something at the Jyothi Talkies junction like they did at Milagres Junction, to facilitate smooth and uninterrupted flow of traffic. Evenings are absolutely horrible at Jyothi and Bunts Hostel.” says Rakshith, a student of St. Aloysius, who wastes “half my life” in traffic at the Jyothi junction every day.
“Manual signal controls should be banned as they are too risky. Especially in the rainy season, the police cannot be seen, and we all know how private buses run in the city. This poses a threat to pedestrians as well as people following the traffic rules. One instance of skipping signals due to not seeing the police show the stop signal could be catastrophic.” said a constable on duty, on the condition of anonymity.
“With the divider being extended for no good reason, the Avery junction has become a massive tragedy for motorists. Unwanted pile-up is caused on these roads as they do not allow you to take the direct road but want you to make a complicated roundabout manoeuvre that slows down the traffic further. People don’t need to look for hell, this one is the most easily accessible one” says Jishnu S, a motorist who regularly commutes on the road in his two wheeler.
“I have given up on the Nantoor junction. Neither cops nor traffic signals can do anything about the condition here. People cracking jokes about Silk Board and Hebbal in Bengaluru should try Nantoor once for a change. However, I am happy to suffer in silence because if I raise my voice, Nalinanna (MP) may propose another flyover which will take three more terms of his election to complete. I would be happy though if my grandchildren could get to use the Pumpwell flyover” says Shabeer, 31, a regular commuter on the Baikampady-Ullal route.
