Mumbai Metro Line 3: Allow access to Metro 3 via car depot, say commuters; watch

Accessing the Aarey Metro station is proving a challenge for Aarey Milk Colony residents as its entry point is located on the JogeshwariVikroli Link Road JVLR about 56 km from their area and autos are hard to come byResidents said finding a rickshaw at Royal Palms in Aarey Milk Colony is tough in the afternoon and evening During peak hours the journey can take up to half an hour Locals had expected to access the Aarey Metro station from Picnic Point where the metro linersquos car depot has been establishedThe footpath outside the JVLRAarey metro station remains unlit and in poor condition posing difficulties for pedestriansVia ranjeetnature Mumbai MumbaiMetro3 Metro MumbaiNews pictwittercomcotBKfH7EImdash Mid Day mid_day October 9 2024ldquoWe had assumed we could access the station from the road near Picnic Point in Aarey but after its opening we realised that while the stationrsquos name is Aarey residents actually need to travel about 56 km to reach it Additionally itrsquos challenging to find rickshaws from Aarey or Royal Palms to the Metro station due to the distancerdquo said Royal Palms resident Rishab AdityaAarey residents have two routes to reach the Aarey Metro station by road One option is to take Aarey Road toward the LampT Junction via Filterpada and then get to the JVLR This route is approximately 10 km long and can take 30 to 45 minutes during morning and evening peak hoursAnother way to reach Aarey station or SEEPZ station is to take the section of Aarey Road from Picnic Point to Marol Police Camp the Marol Maroshi Road From there commuters can either head to Marol Naka Metro station which is about 75 km from Royal Palms or use Marol Maroshi Road to access the SEEPZ Metro station located 78 km away Both routes typically take 30 to 45 minutes during morning and evening peak hoursThe quickest route to Aarey Metro station is to take Marol Maroshi Road alight at the BSES bus stop on Marol Maroshi Road and then use the public bridge leading to JVLR The station is about 600 metres away from the bus stop However during a recent visit midday found the bridge to be in poor condition Additionally the footpath along JVLR is also in disrepair forcing pedestrians to walk on the roadldquoThe authorities should have avoided naming the station JVLR Aarey as it creates confusion Only after its inauguration did we realise that the Metro is of no use to us as the station is not at all in Aarey Milk Colony but on the JVLR I want to appeal to the authorities to find a solution and provide Aarey residents access to the Metro station via the car depotrdquo said Sunil Kumar Aarey resident and chairman of Navkshitij Charitable Trust MumbaiManoj Rathod a Goregaon resident who travelled from Bandra Kurla Complex to JVLR Aarey Metro station said ldquoThe Mumbai Metro Line 3 will prove beneficial to the commuters once it is completely operational However the authorities should have planned a foot overbridge or at least a pedestrian signal for people to cross the JVLRrdquoThis correspondent also saw that the footpath along the eastbound stretch of the JVLR did not have adequate streetlights Pedestrians had to risk their lives crossing the busy road Also when we came out of the station there was no rickshaw available but there was a BEST bus stop a fewmetres away