A few Bengaluru residents have started an online petition against plans to widen Sankey Road, and also to build a flyover along the same road, from Bhashyam Circle to Malleshwaram 18th cross. Several heritage trees in Malleshwaram which are decades old and provide shade would have to be removed for the project. The petition alleged that these projects will cause further traffic congestion and reduce walkability along the road. The road-widening project on Sankey Road was proposed by Deputy Chief Minister CN Ashwath Narayan, who represents the Malleshwaram Assembly constituency, nearly a decade ago. It has since been opposed by activists and residents.
“There has been no public consultation and project details have not been shared with the public either,” the petition alleged. “The flyover plan is yet another example of ad hoc planning,” the petition said, adding that it directly violates provisions of the Comprehensive Mobility Plan for Bengaluru issued by the Karnataka government in 2020. Apart from removing trees, the road-widening project will also end up removing pavements used regularly by residents, it said.
Calling the flyover project “not well thought out” and “poorly planned,” the petition said it will not remove existing traffic bottlenecks. “Cars will enter the flyover quickly, only to encounter severe bottlenecks at the next intersection. The flyover will not solve the problem of traffic congestion,” the petition said, urging Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to roll back the flyover project. It called for holistic solutions to traffic problems instead, by improving public transportation under the Bengaluru Metropolitan Land Transport Authority (BMLTA).
Recently on January 3, BBMP felled over 50 trees in front of Palace Grounds to widen 600 metres of Ballari Road and to add two more lanes in the stretch between Cauvery Theatre and Mekhri Circle. While the road widening was done with the stated aim of reducing traffic congestion, environmental activists said they will monitor traffic flow on the road for a few months or a year and take action if it doesn’t improve.
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