Bengaluru: “Where do we cross?”It’s a question pedestrians across the city are asking with growing frustration. As new roads and Metro lines take shape, zebra crossings seem to be vanishing. A TOI visit to several busy junctions found stripes worn out, encroached upon or missing altogether. In some spots, patchwork repairs had buried the markings; elsewhere, newly asphalted roads were never repainted. The result: pedestrians are left guessing and often sprinting through moving traffic. The absence of zebra crossings isn’t just a pedestrian problem; it puts motorists in a bind too. Bengaluru traffic police mandate that vehicles stop behind the white line before a zebra crossing. Violations invite fines. However, many motorists say the stop lines and stripes are faded or barely visible, especially after dark, leaving them unsure where to halt.JUNCTIONS Banashankari This is among the busiest junctions in the city, where commuters have to frequently switch between Metro and buses. College students and office-goers heading towards central Bengaluru, Uttarahalli, and Outer Ring Road pass through this point daily. After recent asphalting, zebra crossings are largely absent, leaving pedestrians confused about where to cross the road from. Vega City Mall At the junction where Bannerghatta Road meets Outer Ring Road, traffic pours in from three directions. Ongoing Namma Metro work has further worsened the congestion. Many describe negotiating this signal as a “big task”, as speeding two-wheelers and buses pose a clear and present danger to children and elderly pedestrians. Some commuters say it takes more than five minutes to cross this less-than-10-metre stretch. Old High Grounds Circle Even though a skywalk exists here, many elderly people and school students continue to cross the road at undesignated points. With heavy vehicular movement and cars speeding towards Vidhana Soudha and Palace Grounds, crossing the road poses a huge challenge. A traffic policeman said letters were written to the authorities, but drew no response, adding that traffic police officers often step in to help children and the elderly cross. Anil Kumble Circle At this prime junction with heavy vehicle movement, zebra crossings are hardly visible. Most of the washed-out portion is on the stretch next to the LIC building. Pedestrians attempting to cross, or motorists trying to take U-turns here, often get caught by surveillance cameras due to unclear markings. Brigade signal On Residency Road, near Samsung Opera House, large crowds accessing Brigade Road and Church Street use this junction. Towards Mayo Hall, the zebra crossing has been completely obliterated. Though concretising of the road was done recently, zebra crossings were not restored. A parallel signal near M G Road and Trinity Metro Station presents a similar scenario. Shantinagar Bus Terminus Right at the entrance to the TTMC junction, nearly 70% of zebra crossing paint has faded on all four sides. This junction sees constant bus movement. With unclear markings, pedestrians, especially bus users, court danger trying to cross this busy intersection. RR Nagar, near Gopalan Mall On Mysuru Road, in the absence of a skywalk, this four-way junction is a critical pedestrian crossing point. Traffic from RR Nagar towards the highway and vehicles from Jnanabharathi towards the city converge here. With barely visible zebra crossings, pedestrians are at a huge risk. Marathahalli Bridge Junction After a signal was installed on Old Airport Road, zebra crossings became crucial. Yet, there are no zebra crossings here. The markings after did not last for long due to repeated patchwork. TOI observed pedestrians crossing abruptly in the absence of those white stripes. Doddanekundi Junction A new signal has come up on Old Airport Road, but zebra crossings are missing. Towards Marathahalli, nearly 80% of the stripes are no longer visible. Towards HAL, crossings are not marked at all. Only the stretch from Dodanakundi village retains about 50% of the paint. CITIZENS SPEAKPassing through Silk Board Junction is a hassle, as people walk or run across regardless of the signal. Once, while I was riding to work, a woman suddenly ran into the middle of the road. I almost hit her. With no proper markings, commuters don’t know where to cross the road from.Mahesh A | Resident, BTM Layout It feels like we are risking our lives just to cross the road. In the past 10 years, I have never seen proper markings at Banashankari. At times, vehicles even stop right on the zebra crossing. Officials should regularly monitor and maintain these crossings.Kesari Prasad | Resident, Kanakapura Road I have often noticed that most zebra crossings are right at the signal. These should be at least 10 feet before the signal, so that both pedestrians and motorists know where to stop. On Bannerghatta Road, the markings have vanished, forcing pedestrians to step onto the road.TK Jagannathan | Commuter I travel nearly 40 km daily. On many routes, zebra crossings are poorly marked. While at some points there are no painted stripes at all, at other places these are barely visible. This keeps two-wheeler riders guessing on where to stop. At times, cameras capture us and we are handed challans.Rishab Agrawal | Commuter In central areas, zebra crossings are slightly better, but on the outskirts they are barely visible. At night, when visibility gets worse, we simply can’t see the stripes. I received challans twice for this.Yashwanth | Cab driver Lane markings and zebra crossings come under GBA’s traffic engineering cell, not traffic police. But what work is actually done on the ground, no one really knows.Rahul Goyal | Trader on SJP Road
