The ban on vehicular traffic during the weekends on Bengaluru’s Church Street has been indefinitely lifted, said a senior traffic police official. This comes as the trial period of the Church Street First initiative ended on May 31. The initiative proposed by the Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT) & Indian Institute of Science under the clean air initiative barred vehicular movement on Church Street during the weekends.
Speaking to TNM, Assistant Commissioner (Traffic) Police, Satish, said, “The ban on vehicular movement has been indefinitely lifted. No new proposals have been made yet about renewing the initiative since it expired. Until we receive further notice, there will be no restrictions on vehicular movement.”
The Church Street First initiative was launched on November 6, 2020, by DULT along with the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board and Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). The initiative called for a ban of vehicular traffic on the 750-meter-long stretch in the heart of the city, starting from 10 am on Saturdays till midnight on Sundays. The official page of the initiative read, “The aim is to reprioritise clean mobility and demonstrate the positive impact of streets focused on people and sustainable behaviours.”
Church Street First was to originally end in February 2021 but was extended twice thereafter. The extension until May 31 had received mixed reactions from residents and shop owners living on the stretch.
A report in Deccan Herald quoted the DULT Commissioner V Manjula saying that the project had been handed over to the BBMP to manage since April and that DULT has requested them to “carry it forward”.
When asked whether the initiative will continue, BBMP chief Gaurav Gupta said that the civic body has not yet made a decision. Speaking to TNM, he said, “We [the BBMP] have received varying opinions. All the stakeholders will be consulted before the BBMP takes a decision in respect to the project."