Mangaluru Smart City Ltd., (MSCL) has commenced preparatory works of widening footpaths and constructing shoulder drains to further its proposal to have a circular one-way traffic clockwise from Clock Tower-A.B. Shetty Circle-Hamilton Circle-Rao & Rao Circle-Cock Tower.
The Maidan Road from Clock Tower to A.B. Shetty Circle will have 8-ft wide footpaths on both sides, said an officer with MSCL, who said no decision was yet taken on introducing the circular one-way.
Other parts of Maidan Road, from A.B. Shetty Circle to Hamilton Circle, Hamilton Circle to Rao & Rao Circle, and Rao & Rao Circle to Clock Tower will have footpaths up to 6-ft wide , he said.
Once the road and footpath improvement works are completed, the medians on these stretches of Maidan Road will be removed, the officer said. He said the decision on introducing the one-way would have to be taken by the Mangaluru City Corporation Council and the Deputy Commissioner.
MCC in consultation with the Mangaluru City Traffic Police (MCTP) has already got the private city bus stand of State Bank shifted from the existing location to a space inside service bus terminal adjacent to Rao & Rao Circle. This was aimed at offering hassle-free vehicular movement once the one-way traffic was introduced.
Mayor Premananda Shetty said no immediate decision on introducing the one-way rule would be taken without consulting people’s representatives and citizens. “The proposal [to introduce one-way] was made by officials [of MSCL] and everyone felt people’s representatives too should be consulted. One-way system would be introduced on trial basis initially and after having consultation with all stakeholders concerned, a final decision would be taken. The MCC Council has to approve the proposal and the Deputy Commissioner has to ratify the same,” he said.
The Mayor however said wide roads with sprawling footpaths surrounding Nehru Maidan and adjacent places, which all belong to the government, would offer space for general public for social gathering and other activities. A.B. Shetty Circle particularly has become a traffic bottleneck at present with city and service buses competing with each other to enter State Bank Terminal, he said.
