Bengaluru: Bike riders have won a reprieve on two of Bengaluru’s busiest elevated roads as the govt slammed the brakes on its proposed ban on two-wheelers amid mounting commuter protests and growing congestion on the roads below.Under the revised plan, on the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) elevated road, existing restrictions on goods vehicles during the morning and evening rush hours will continue, but two-wheelers and autorickshaws will be allowed to use the stretch until further notice. A similar approach will be adopted on the Electronics City elevated corridor as well.While bike ban on the KIA elevated road was introduced on Sept 4, a similar restriction on the Electronics City flyover was scheduled to kick in from Sept 11.Clarifying the rollback, home minister Priyank Kharge said Tuesday restrictions on two-wheelers on the KIA and Electronics City flyovers would not be enforced immediately. Instead, the restrictions would be introduced in phases after assessing the overall impact on traffic.Several riders who regularly used the KIA elevated road told TOI their journeys had become three times longer after the ban, with the diversions also adding more vehicles to already congested surface roads.The two corridors were bundled with three other flyovers in the city — BGS, Peenya, and Double Decker — where these restrictions were put in place earlier this month.Kharge said an initial review by traffic police showed vehicles were moving smoothly on BGS, Peenya, and Double Decker flyovers, but the experience on the KIA elevated road was different.“Officials observed diverting multiple vehicle types — including goods vehicles, two-wheelers and autorickshaws — onto the service roads all at once was leading to congestion,” Kharge said.“Our aim is not to impose changes merely through orders, but to assess their impact on local traffic conditions and implement them in a phased manner, causing the least possible inconvenience to the public,” the minister further reasoned.Quote Box“Over the past four days, we noticed that motorists were yet to adapt to the restrictions. Vehicles were moving in a criss-cross manner near the upper ramp, leading to traffic jam on Bellary RoadKarthik Reddy | Joint CP (traffic)
