Bengaluru: MG Road shop owners to support traffic-free day once in 6 months

BENGALURU: If commercial establishments on Mahatma Gandhi Road have their way , traffic can be banned on this prime street once every six months.

The MG Road will go traffic-free this Sunday as part of the government's experiment to promote public transport under its Open Streets initiative.

The Bangalore Trades Association (BTA), a body representing about 120 shops and establishments on MG Road, has told the government that MG Road should be made free of traffic at least once in six months. “This is a unique initiative that is akin to Times Square in New York.

We are sure it will be a success,“ said former BTA president Bhoopalam P Srinath, who owns the Bombay Dyeing store on MG Road. The plan, however, has not gone down well with Brigade Road shop owners. “You can't expect people to park at RBANMS Ground and expect them to walk all the way to MG Road or Brigade Road.

We are talking about all this tamasha...we should be solving existing problems instead,“ Sohail Yusuf, secretary, Brigade Road Shops and Establishments Association, told ET earlier this month.

MG Road will be closed for traffic from 9 am to 9 pm between Anil Kumble Circle and Brigade Road junction this Sunday . Parking arrangements are made at Shivajinagar TTMC, RBANMS Grounds and Shantinagar TTMC.

The BMTC will run 50 buses in 11 routes at a frequency of 15 minutes.Buses will run from Shanthinagar and Koramangala TTMCs. Services of BMTC and metro will be extended till 11 pm, authorities said.

To incentivise public transport, BMTC commuters on Sunday stand to win 50 gift coupons worth `500 and 50 special commemorative cards (loaded with `500 worth currency).

The first Open Streets experiment took place in HSR Layout last September to an overwhelming response from citizens.