Junctions in our city were the natural meeting point of roads, as against being designed to disperse traffic converging from several directions

Commuting through the busy Hennur Junction is an exercise in chaos for most commuters. Traffic from seven directions converges at the junction to diverge in four directions. A wide junction with neither lane markings nor a signal, the incomplete ‘hanging mid-air’ flyover only adds to the confusion.

Ramanath, a Kalyan Nagar resident, said that commuting through Hennur Junction has always been confusing as vehicles zoom past in all directions. “It is very unsafe for motorists, especially those on two-wheelers, and pedestrians,” he said.

Local residents have been requesting a traffic island apart from speedy completion of the flyover, which has been stuck for more than three years over land acquisition issues.

But Hennur Junction is not a one-off case. The city has hundreds of junctions that are crying for intervention either in the form of traffic diversions – one ways or formation of islands, or streamlining the movement of vehicles. The islands would help motorists follow lane discipline and eliminate much of the chaos.

Most of the busy junctions in the core areas are better equipped compared to those on the outskirts, including some on Outer Ring Road (ORR) and Mysuru Road.

However, this doesn’t mean that the junctions in CBD are role models. One of the tricky junctions is Trinity Circle, which was further complicated by the Namma Metro line passing through. Experts have also been recommending a traffic island at the busy Anil Kumble Circle on M.G. Road to streamline traffic flow.

A senior traffic cop pointed out that the city traditionally has had narrower roads compared to other metros. Junctions were the natural meeting point of roads, as against being designed. “We are carrying a backlog of badly planned roads, which were laid without factoring in the needs of the junction where they meet. Thus, many of these junctions have a flawed geometry, turning them into bottlenecks,” the officer said.

Traffic cops have begun short-listing over 100 junctions for improvement and intervention through traffic signals.

“The Hennur Junction sees traffic snarls almost every evening despite posting several cops. It does not have a signal. The flyover should be completed immediately,” says N. Muniraju, Hennur Residents' Welfare Association

“The junction at the intersection of Horamavu Main Road and Outer Ring Road is chaotic. We need a signal or a traffic island,” says D.S. Rajashekhar, resident, HRBR Layout

I take the Hosa Road Junction to drop my child to a school in HSR Layout. Commuting is an ordeal. She is late every day. Sometime we return home without going to school

— Kavitha Rajagopalan

The Inner Ring Road-Sony World Signal Junction is a big bottleneck. It needs to be widened to match the width of Inner Ring Road. A flyover or underpass would also help

— Girish Krishnamurthy, resident, HAL III Stage

Traffic from five directions converge at Yeshwantpur Circle and diverge in three directions. Over the years, it has become very busy. Even addition of a flyover has not reduced the confusion

S. Panduranga, resident, Mathikere

“The full benefit of widening a road isn’t reaped if junctions aren’t widened, which is the case at most places. Traffic cops usually think of junction improvement only in terms of signals. But islands are more important. The practice is to opt for either signals or islands. But what we need is a combination of the two,” says Prof. M. N. Sreehari, traffic expert