[sustran] Flyovers increasing citizen woes

[kisan mehta]

Dear Sustran Friends,

The long elevated road cum flyover out of the 52 proposed and majority in use was commissioned on 1st May 2002.    While the 
motorists have been benefitted, citizens are put to serious 
difficulties.  While Motorists driving farther than the length of 
the flyover have a joy ride,  motorists staying or working in the 
area have got  500 parking space below the flyover.  Entire 
length of the flyover and 2 km beyond the flyover was hitherto no parking area.  So motorists are gifted with parking space in one 
of the most congested area having a resident density of around 
80,000 per sq km and a visitors density of 150,000.   

Sufferers are the citizens and pedestrians.   The govt is now 
constructing 52 flyovers and has started constructing the Sealink
at an undisclosed cost of Rs 70 billion.   The govt is now woeing
with the World Bank for a loan on another MUTP project 
estimated at Rs 60 billion to increase motorisation.  The Bank is 
practically committed.  India after all is the first or second largest 
Bank client.   This is how the Bank puts citizens to difficulty.  

The following article highlights citizen difficulties. 

`JJ flyover has made life miserable for pedestrians'

By Vidyadhar Date

Times News Network 

Times of India Mumbai Edition 08 May 2002 


Mumbai. While offering a joy ride to motorists and motor-cyclists the viaduct between J.J. hospital and Palton Road has made life more miserable for pedestrians. The footpath all along J.J. hospital compound has been removed exposing pedestrians to serious hazards. `This is scandalous,' said R.N. Dave, a retired college lecturer whose son studies neurology and lives in J.J. hospital premises. Every time I step out of J.J. hospital, I am afraid of being knocked down, he said.. Worse, a number of cars and trucks are parked along the stretch. Traffic signals near J.J. hospital are synchronised in such a way that pedestrians just cannot cross the road without being run over by cars.

But motorists have also begun paying the price of the unlimited freedom given to them by the flyover.. Accidents have already started occurring on the viaduct as cars are driven without concern for safety, especially safety of others.. A motorist, who met with an accident,said while requesting anonymity that people are driving along the flyover just for the fun of it with total disregard for others.. They ride from Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus to J.J. hospital and come back again. In fact, most of the car trips in Mumbai, according to experts, are entirely redundant. 

All this has actually increased traffic jams. `I have travelled on the viaduct in the last two days and both the days I encountered a big traffic jam after coming down from the flyover near J.J. hospital,' said architect Moyyed Fatehi. It took almost eight to ten minutes to get out of the mess, he said. . The projections of traffic experts are coming true, the flyovers are ultimately adding to the city's traffic problems.

He said while the standard of construction of the flyover was good, the road and footpaths below are left in a deplorable condition. The flyover has helped traffic for long distance travellers and fun lovers but life is still miserable for people in the area. The road space has actually shrunk because of the pillars of the flyover and the allotting of space in the middle of the road for car parking. 

Besides, as the cars are parked diagonally, they obstruct traffic and create a jam as they are pulled out, Mr Fatehi said. 

Instead of offering more facilities for pedestrians, the authorities are creating more problems for them , said Kisan Mehta, a veteran of the Save Bombay Committee and former BEST Chairperson.

Mr Mehta demanded that the Mumbai Urban Transport Project II should earmark Rs 200 crore for providing footpaths. He has drawn the attention of the World Bank to the neglect of the needs of pedestrians by the municipal corporation in Mumbai. 

The J.J. flyover is of no use to the BEST bus system which carries millions of people daily. In fact, for the past several months bus traffic has been diverted because of the flyover which has heavily added to the fuel bill of BEST. It is strange that the public transport should be penalised for the benefit of cars which carry far fewer people than buses or trains, Mr Mehta said.

Only one BEST bus, No 40 running between Borivli and Dadar, is using the newly built flyovers. The JJ flyover has also led to a heavy increase in traffic in the CST area causing unprecedented chaos opposite Anjuman-i-Islam school. School children will be severely affected by the heavy increase in honking of vehicles. 

The Pedder Road Residents Association has decided to thoroughly scrutinise the proposal for the proposed viaduct on Pedder Road, said its chairperson and history scholar Veena Singhal. `We have urged Mr P.D. Karandikar, managing director of the Maharashtra state road development corporation (MSRDC) to submit a detailed written proposal so that technical experts can evaluate it. 

Ms Singhal told Times News Network that it was proposed to appoint transport expert P.G. Patankar and technical expert Shirish Patel on the committee. She has also submitted a plan to make Pedder Road one-way during certain hours. Once this plan works, we would demonstrate that there is no need for the viaduct, she said.

..........

  Best wishes  Priya Salvi and Kisan Mehta  
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