Our traffic - do we have a problem ?
Total vehicles : 32 Lakh
1500 new vehicles added every day
Private vehicles comprise 90 % .
Traffic on most major roads is 2-3 time the capacity.
High vehicle population
In April 2008, source - Bangalore Traffic Police
Every day:There are 27 serious accidents.3 people die21 people are injured.
1100 people died in road accidents in 2007, while 500 people dies in 2000.
Accidents
Speed in rush hour
2008 : 15 km. / hr.1 hour Koramangala to Hebbal.
2010 : 10 km. / hr. ?1.5 hrs. Koramangala to Hebbal.
2012 : 5 km. / hr. ?3 hrs. Koramangala to Hebbal.
High commute times
Pic. Courtesy CSE
Air pollution is 2 to 3 times acceptable limits on most roads in the city.
Air pollution
We are all dying slow deaths because of this.
http://www.ecocenter.org/dust/ToxicAtAnySpeed.pdf
Think you are safe in your car ?Think again !
PBDEs (fire retardants in plastics) cause neuro-developmental damage, thyroid hormone disruption and liver toxicity. Phthalates (in fabric softeners) cause birth defects, impaired learning, liver toxicity, premature births, and early puberty. Your car has large amounts of both these.
Levels of Carbon Monoxide, a highly poisonous gas, can be up to 10 times higher in the car than outside. Levels of toxic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) can be 4-5 times higher.
CO, ppm
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In car On road
In car
On road
Roads do not belong to pedestrians and cyclists anymore.Even footpaths do not belong to pedestrians.
Pedestrians and cyclists – zero access
Pic. courtesy Citizen Matters
Pic. courtesy Deccan Herald
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Loss of green cover
70 % reduction in green cover in last 40 years.
Bangalore is an urban heat island (UHI), an area significantly warmer than its surroundings.Caused by replacing vegetation by asphalt and concrete for roads, buildings.
10 % reduction in vegetation can increase temperature by 4 deg. C.
Temperature rise
Of course we have a problem !
Death by accidents Death by secondary smoking
Temperature rise Loss of green cover
Astronomical commute times Poisoning in your own car
If you want to work towards solving the problem,contact
Vinay [email protected]
OR
Roshni [email protected]