Govt plans that got off to a bad start

MUMBAI: The authorities in Mumbai have consistently focused their energies on developing infrastructure for motorists while ignoring everyone else. Whatever few times they have tried to act differently in the last few years, their planning has been dreadful. So much so that the projects have either not got off the ground or been stillborn. Transportation experts and urban planners assert that for pedestrianization plans to really work in a crowded city like Mumbai, they need to be formulated better. Isolated attempts, they add, are less likely to achieve success. "We must think beyond cars. Bigger and wider roads will not solve the problem of traffic; they may even worsen it. We need to think of a concept whereby walking and cycling become a part of our daily life," says architect-activist P K Das

CYCLING TRACKS & RENT-A-BIKE AT BKC

Two years ago, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) laid a 13km-long cycling track in Bandra-Kurla Complex at a cost of Rs 6.5 crore. Rarely used by cyclists, the track fell into disrepair and soon enough became a de facto parking space for motorists. To resuscitate the original project, the MMRDA weighed another plan last year. It considered building nine bicycle stands in three blocks of the BKC and engaging a private company to provide cycles on rent. The idea was that people could pedal to the railway station, drop the cycle there and take a train to their final destination. The project is still to take off

THE PROBLEM

Transportation experts note that cycling tracks built in isolation are less likely to work, especially among cyclists. Few people are going to drive down to the BKC with their bikes, cycle there on designated tracks and then return in the car with their bikes

WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE

The MMRDA needs to plan better. It should fix the broken tracks, make available cycles at the earliest and provide place for their parking. Incentivizing the use of bicycles in the business district may also help

WALKER'S PLAZA AT CRAWFORD MARKET

Over four years ago, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) came up with a tentative plan to construct a walker's plaza around Crawford Market. It considered building an underpass around the heritage market, so that traffic could go underground and an exclusive pedestrian space could be freed right from Abdul Rehman Street to Kalbadevi. According to some media reports, the civic authorities even asked the Urban Mass Transit Company to study the possibilities. It expected the plan to be a big hit because of the junction's proximity to two markets and rows of hawkers. People, officials were quoted as saying, would 'like to stroll there'

THE PROBLEM

The project never went very far. Partly because of lack of will on the part of the authorities and partly because the cost of moving the underground utilities was calculated to be prohibitive

WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE

The BMC must rethink the plan. If required, it should be implemented in a less challenging and congested area

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