Parel-Worli roads model for traffic study

MUMBAI: The major arterial roads in G-South ward, comprising Lower Parel, Mahalaxmi and Worli, will be taken up in a pilot study of traffic problems ailing Mumbai, a special committee set up by the Bombay high court said on Thursday.


The panel is headed by additional commissioner of police (traffic) S Veeresh Prabhu and comprises senior officers of agencies like the BMC, MMRDA, BEST, transport department and MMRCL. Advocate general Ashutosh Kumbhakoni informed the court about the proposal mooted in the panel's second meeting on October 29. “Prabhu proposed that the committee should identify a pocket of the city as a pilot area… to suggest possible traffic solutions. The arterial road network of G-South ward… was unanimously selected to study parking-related issues,” a document submitted to the high court read.




The panel has been asked to study problems regarding parking and traffic congestion in the area and suggest short-, mid- and long-term solutions.

The panel was set up by the court on a PIL filed by the NGO Janhit Manch and activist Bhagwanji Raiyani. According to the PIL, illegal parking, encroachment and bad roads lead to traffic congestion.

As per figures submitted by the state, as of August 31, there were over 34 lakh registered vehicles in Mumbai, including over 20 lakh two-wheelers and 10 lakh cars. Road length has however remained constant at around 2,000 km for years. The existing parking capacity, including on-street parking, public parking lots and amenity parking, is only for around 24,000 vehicles. The BMC informed the panel that it had started new on-street parking at 29 sites out of the 461 suggested by the traffic department. Further, 88 public parking lots are to be constructed by private developers with a capacity for around 58,000 vehicles.

For the next meeting, the panel has sought a presentation on the Comprehensive Mobility Plan for the city, as well as reports on Metro projects, station area traffic integration system (SATIS) and hawker zones and policies. The HC division bench of Chief Justice Naresh Patil and Justice Girish Kulkarni asked the panel to continue with its work and has scheduled the matter after six weeks for the submission of a fresh progress report.