No relief for walkers in quaint south Mumbai, too

The quaint neighbourhoods of south Mumbai dotted with heritage structures are no different when it comes to snatching away the cityrsquos footpaths from citizens Unlike garages and scrap shops that block sidewalks in the suburbs swanky cars are the villains in pockets like Colaba and Napean Sea Road Itrsquos more brazen in areas where families own more than one vehicle The island citymdashColaba to Sion and Mahimmdashhas a pavement network of 400 kmAlso read Why Mumbaikars have now started walking on roadsCars leave no space for walkers on Shri Boman Kawasji Boman Behram Marg Colaba PicPradeep DhivarAs part of its series lsquoNowhere to gorsquo midday visited Napean Sea Road and Colaba and their poorer cousins like P DrsquoMello Road and Dockyard Road In SoBo several societies have modified pavements to suit their convenience ldquoHow can we take the car onto the road without a ramp The BMC itself approves the plan of the society gate I donrsquot think this encroachment as we donrsquot have any other optionrdquo said a SoBo resident requesting not to be identifiedCars bar pedestriansShri Boman Kawasji Boman Behram Marg Colaba PicPradeep Dhivarmidday visited Shree Boman Kawasji Boman Behram Marg to find a lot of vehicles parked on the footpaths There was no way a pedestrian could cross the stretch without getting onto the roadKishor Hadapa Colaba residentldquoMost local residents park their vehicles in the internal lanes that donrsquot have much footfall or traffic But many shoppers and tourists visit Colaba and they block roads as well as pavements creating traffic problemsrdquo said a local resident Kishor Hadapa who lives in Colaba told midday ldquoHere most of the buildings are old and donrsquot have a parking facility We have always tried to approach the authorities to find a permanent solution to this problem But that doesnrsquot workrdquoWhere walking is a risky dealConstruction material dumped on a footpath between Reay Road and Dockyard Road PicsAtul KambleThe arterial P DrsquoMello Road in SoBo is one of the busiest carriageways in Mumbai but walkers get no respite here as scrap dealers have taken over all the footpaths Itrsquos the same scene on Reay Road and Dockyard RoadBikes block the pavement between Reay Road and Dockyard RoadldquoWe are always forced to walk on the road as the footpaths have been completely encroached upon It is quite dangerous to walk along the stretch since there are speeding vehicles and one needs to be very careful We can never think to walk on this road with childrenrdquo said Sanjay Sagavekar a Dockyard Road residentPosh pocket lost pavementsNApean Sea Road may be one of the poshest neighbourhoods in Mumbai but that doesnrsquot guarantee an unobstructed walking experience for citizens midday found cars parked on pavements outside the Embassy Apartment near Breach Candy At Cumballa Hill too vehicles were blatantly parked on the footpathsThe upscale locality of Napean Sea Road is no guarantee for unobstructed walking space PicAshish RajeldquoYes there is parking on the footpath Even on both sides of the roadrdquo said Sneh Shah resident of Napean Sea Road ldquoThe authorities should plan parking lots which will help residents as well as pedestrians Also it will sort out traffic congestion in the areardquoPoor urban planning ExpertsCivic activist Vidya Vaidya said itrsquos completely wrong to make a ramp on the footpath to facilitate vehicle movement ldquoThis is because of bad planning by the builder and ignorance of the city body The footpath needs to be levelled so that pedestrians can walk on it easilyrdquoldquoMistakes in our city planning have created problems for vehicles on the road or on sidewalks Sidewalks are made for pedestrians to walk on Everyone has forgotten thisrdquo said Sulakshana Mahajan architect and urban plannerMahajan said the problem should be addressed by thinking from all angles ldquoPolicymakers should take this issue seriously Citizens should raise them at the time of elections Everyone should play a conciliatory role in this If the citizens are spending lakhs and crores to buy cars then why canrsquot they pay for parkingrdquo400kmLength of footpaths in the island city