When the Destination Hasn't Changed, Why Should the Lane Keep Changing?
Published 30th July 2026
Nayakanti Prashant
3rd Gen Banker & Citizen Lobbyist – Bengaluru
A Citizen Suggestion for Bengaluru's ORR
Redevelopment
The Starting Point
Dear Government of Karnataka and all teams associated with the
KR Puram–Silk Board ORR redevelopment,
At the outset, appreciation for opening the redevelopment
conversation to citizens and stakeholders.
What particularly caught my attention was something simple but
important.
Citizens who could not attend the consultation in person were
still invited to share their suggestions by email.
That second doorway matters.
A public consultation becomes stronger when participation does
not end with the physical meeting.
This morning, I used that doorway and shared one citizen
suggestion.
This Citizen Observation is built around the same thought.
Are you interested in the second doorway?
Act I | The Familiar Flyover Moment
Three lanes.
Traffic is moving.
One four-wheeler is travelling in its lane.
Then the neighbouring lane appears to move slightly faster.
The vehicle changes lanes.
A little later, the original lane begins moving faster.
Another change.
And perhaps another.
The destination hasn't changed.
Only the lane has.
For many Bengaluru motorists, the scene may feel familiar.
Act II | When Signage Is Not the
Issue
Directional signage matters.
Clear road markings matter.
Choosing the correct lane early matters.
But sometimes the motorist already knows the destination.
There is no confusion about the route.
The lane change happens simply because another lane appears,
for that moment, to be moving faster.
On an elevated flyover, that behaviour deserves particular
attention.
Act III | One Change. Several
Reactions.
An elevated flyover offers a relatively defined travelling
space.
Vehicles are moving together within that corridor.
One avoidable lane change may involve more than the vehicle
making it.
The driver behind reacts.
Another vehicle adjusts.
Someone brakes.
A small decision behind one steering wheel can create
reactions across several vehicles.
So perhaps the question is not only about telling motorists
what not to do.
Could infrastructure itself also encourage better lane
discipline?
Yes, this can open up possibilities.
Act IV | One Citizen Suggestion
As Bengaluru redesigns this important ORR stretch, could the
design of its elevated flyovers specifically:
Encourage stronger lane discipline among four-wheelers and
discourage avoidable lane changing?
That's the suggestion.
I am deliberately stopping there.
The answer may involve road engineering, lane markings,
technology, enforcement, behavioural nudges — or an approach that a citizen
outside the design room hasn't imagined.
If technology eventually forms part of the solution,
aggregated daily or weekly statistics on suspected avoidable lane changes could
potentially help experts understand behaviour and measure improvement.
But those are implementation questions.
They belong to the experts.
Infrastructure can only create the conditions.
The final decision still happens behind the steering wheel.
A well-designed flyover can guide.
A road marking can remind.
Technology can observe.
Enforcement can deter.
But the motorist must ultimately choose to stay disciplined.
That is where infrastructure and individual responsibility
meet.
The First Line on the Whiteboard
Citizen Observation 777 draws only the first line on the
whiteboard.
For CO14, that line is:
Elevated Flyovers → Better
Lane Discipline
How that line is completed belongs to Bengaluru's mobility,
traffic, engineering and road-design experts — and the motorists on the spot.
Even the best-designed infrastructure cannot deliver better
lane discipline on its own.
**The road can help.
The motorist has to participate. **
Always the first line.
Act V | Participate Before
Implementation
The ORR redevelopment is still being discussed.
That makes now the right time for citizens to participate.
Not after the markings are painted.
Not after the infrastructure is completed.
Not after we begin asking why something was designed a
particular way.
A better sequence is:
Consult.
Observe.
Suggest.
Let the experts evaluate.
This morning, I followed that sequence and emailed this one
suggestion to the consultation channel.
Whether it has merit, and whether or how it should be
implemented, belongs entirely to the concerned institutions and experts.
Have you shared your inputs?
Citizen Observation
Better lane discipline cannot rest entirely on infrastructure.
Nor can it rest entirely on motorists.
Good infrastructure can make better behaviour easier.
Good motorists can make good infrastructure work better.
On an elevated flyover, every lane need not become a race for
the next few metres.
The destination hasn't changed.
Perhaps the journey can become calmer too.
Disclaimer
This is a citizen observation arising from everyday road usage
and the public consultation around Bengaluru's ORR redevelopment.
It is not a traffic-engineering recommendation.
The feasibility, safety implications, appropriate design
standards, technology, enforcement mechanisms and implementation — if any — are
entirely for the relevant authorities and domain experts to evaluate.
The April 11 – Digital Transactions
Day Philosophy
Citizen Observation 777 often looks at digital journeys.
But every digital journey eventually meets the physical world.
Better cities need all three:
Thoughtful digital infrastructure.
Thoughtful physical infrastructure.
Responsible citizen participation.
The citizen experience travels through all three.
For additional Reading
Nayakanti Prashant
3rd Gen Banker & Citizen Lobbyist – Bengaluru
Advocating Digital Transactions Day (April 11)
Author’s Blogs
https://prashantrandomthoughts.blogspot.com
https://prashantnepayments.blogspot.com
https://innovationinbanking.blogspot.com
