In first, BMC appoints town planner to study parking woes in Dadar

Dadar often sees heavy traffic congestion owing to it being a major shopping hub

Having tried various ways to decongest the city's roads and junctions, the BMC has now appointed a town planner to do the job in Dadar. The G North ward wants to decongest the major hub and push citizens towards Public Parking Lots. It also plans to include local shopkeepers and businessmen in the process.

Through the urban planner's study, it has figured that there are 22 traffic generation points in the ward and about 38 small lanes and arterial roads are within a 500-metre radius of the PPLs. However, the two PPLs in the ward have a total capacity of 1,100 vehicles, the lanes see around 4,000 vehicles parked across them every day.

The study undertaken by ward officials, a civic official explained, revealed that most of the parking in these lanes is done by locals residing in the old buildings here. Data also points to vehicles parked here for a few minutes. These include people who visit restaurants, taxis waiting for passengers, gas cylinder delivery tempos, and garbage vehicles among others. These will certainly not be considered for the PPLs. While a comprehensive solution is being discussed, the BMC plans to develop Taxi Bays to cater to the pick-up and drop-off vehicles. This will be done by identifying 26 setback areas (area to be handed over to BMC after the redevelopment of any building if space is reserved for road widening).

Traffic jams in the shopping hub is no news, which is why the BMC has come up with the new proposal. File pic

Apart from the ring route bus service about which mid-day was the first to report, ward officials will also look at involving shopkeepers and local businessmen to offer valet services to the parking lots as Dadar West is a major shopping hub. The civic body has also planned to improve the road junctions and divider arrangements, apart from placing signages and making some one-ways to attract more people to the PPLs.

Also Read: BMC now open to suggestions about policy on Mumbai's open spaces

The BMC plans to start its own valet services too. It will mean stationing staff inside the PPLs to park visitors' vehicles. Since many visit Dadar for shopping, a number of vehicles are seen on its roads with the drivers sitting inside these cars. "This leads to traffic congestion. However, if shopkeepers start valet services, the car owners would have an easier solution. With PPLs being close to Dadar station, this option is being considered," said a civic official not willing to be named. The town planner has also suggested that the BMC officials consider pedestrianisation at the earliest.

Pedestrianisation next

This will mean reducing the number of vehicles allowed on certain roads. It will be a crucial step, if taken, especially in Dadar that sees a large number of hawkers and shoppers. The BMC has agreed to take it up after this decongestion project is implemented.

Kiran Dighavkar, the assistant municipal commissioner of G North ward, said, "We have appointed a transport planner for a detailed study of these plans. After thorough planning, and coordination with the traffic police and BEST, a proposal will be put forward before the competent authority for implementation."

26
No. of setback areas that might be used for Taxi Bays

1,100
No. of vehicles the two PPLs can accommodate

4,000
No. of vehicles parked across roads

Also Read: Mumbai: Illegal parking by service centres on footpaths ignored by BMC

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