Bollards to be removed on ORR stretches where Namma Metro work is ongoing

Bengaluru

Bollards, which physically demarcate the bus priority lane (BPL), on Outer Ring Road (ORR) that were recently blamed for obstructing the roadway and causing accidents on stretches where Namma Metro construction work is under way will be removed till the metro work is completed.

A decision to this effect was recently taken at a meeting of senior officials with the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), and Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. (BMRCL), following the recommendation of Bengaluru City Traffic Police. 

“We have asked the contractors to remove all the bollards temporarily till metro work is completed. In the next two days, all bollards will be removed,” B.R. Ravikanthe Gowda, Joint Commissioner (Traffic), said. 

However, the BPL for which the bollards and barriers were introduced as a deterrent to two-wheelers and vehicles, will continue to remain operational. Signages will be used and only the physical barriers separating it from the roadway will be removed, said officials. This will also ease traffic congestion and travel time on ORR, it is hoped. 

The decision was taken a little over a week after a motorist Mathew Joseph, 47, was killed in an accident near Devarabeesanahalli. He was riding near the BPL when a speeding goods vehicle knocked down his bike. He slipped and fell under the wheel of the vehicle sustaining severe head injuries. Many motorists blamed the bollards for the accident, following which there were demands for them to be removed across the stretch, and not just in places where Namma Metro work was under way.  

Due to metro construction along the median, the width of the road has reduced. “Namma Metro work has already narrowed the roadway on the ORR which has one of the highest traffic density especially during peak hours. The problem with bollards is that most two wheelers were trying to change lanes between the bollards and even four wheelers and buses had hit the bollards damaging them,” Mr. Gowda said. 

Traffic police will oversee traffic movement on these stretches and ensure buses get priority in the bus priority lanes. The decision will be revisited after eight months, sources said.