Cubbon Road stretch opens for traffic

 

While the traffic police see this road opening as a potential respite in traffic movement on M G Road, the city ecologists are demanding that the authorities restore the junction with the trees which once adorned it.

 

Mr Vinay Sreenivasa, a social activist and a member of the Alternative Law Forum, pointed out that it’s essential to restore the green cover that Minsk Square once boasted of. “The junction is located close to Cubbon Park and it must not be left barren. Recent studies on air quality in Bengaluru have indicated a rise in suspended particulate matter. Replanting the trees in major junctions will help fight the pollution problem,” he suggested.

 

Mr M.A. Saleem, Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) said that a new pedestrian safety plan has been made for Minsk Square and will be implemented soon. “It’s a large junction. So it takes longer time for pedestrians to cross from one side to the other. We are preparing a pedestrian safety plan which will ease the difficulty of  road crossing and will also not hold up traffic, ” he said.

 

For the last four years, the major traffic which could have moved on Cubbon Road was diverted to M G Road, adding to traffic congestion. In the last two years, the traffic situation  worsened after Tender SURE work was taken up on the CBD Roads. “There are a few last-minute alternations at the junction such as removing slabs, pitching signage boards and streamlining signal timings, which will be completed before the road is opened for traffic,” said a traffic officer.