Citizens want vehicle-free Church Street at least on weekends

Rachana Ramesh | NT

Bengaluru: Church Street has grown to be one of the most iconic spaces in the city. All sorts of individuals, from authors to artists, can be found selling their creations here on the weekends.

Most of these artists and other people who set up stalls selling plants and other textiles tend to take up the footpaths and pavements made exclusively for pedestrian mobility, causing a disruption in the movements of walkers and motorists.

Prathiksha Patti, a recent graduate of architecture, makes digital art as her hobby. While she has collaborated with other firms to put up her stalls in places such as Socials, she misses the thrill of seeing her customers first-hand. Patti, who sets up her makeshift stall once in a while on Church Street, is currently pursuing an internship in the city.

She sees this as a way to make a second income. “I visit Church Street mostly on Saturdays, and I see a huge increase in the crowd,” she said. Owing to the fact that the crowd visiting Church Street is mostly IT sector employed and has a weekend holiday, the population of people in Church Street fairly rises on Saturday and Sunday.

Many are shopping with hawkers on the streets, while others are trying to get into bustling restaurants. Roshi, who does tarot readings and sells her stone jewelry on the street, said, “We see the walking crowd being disrupted because customers tend to stand for a long time, analysing our art and deciding whether to buy it.

Pedestrians tend to take the road and motorists are disrupted,” she said, and added that the problem could be easily solved if Church Street was blocked for motorists on weekends. “The pathways can be blocked for motorists and be made exclusively pedestrian.

Cyclists can also be encouraged, in turn creating awareness about environmentally friendly ways of movement,” she explained. The common public on the street also agreed with the notion. Faraz Abdul, who frequently visits the street, said, “There is a main road that can be taken as an alternative for the vehicles that choose to travel on Church Street. It is a feasible option and the cops must consider monitoring the issue in order to increase more walkers and visitors in that part of the neighbourhood,” he said.

“The municipal authorities have been complaining about heavy-weight vehicles damaging the cobblestones. They should definitely have a ban on vehicles on the weekend and introduce more stalls, increasing their ways of business too,” said another walker