04 January,2024 06:53 AM IST | Mumbai | Ranjeet Jadhav
Two-wheelers on a footpath near the Oshiwara bus depot on December 28, 2023. Pic/Anurag Ahire
By Ranjeet Jadhav, Prajakta Kasale, Sameer Surve and Prasun Choudhari
While footpaths are meant for the public, senior citizens and school-going children, among other pedestrians, have no choice but to risk their lives by walking on the road as most pavements have been illegally turned into parking spaces.
In some places, shop owners park their bikes and bicycles on them. To take stock of the situation, mid-day visited some locations in the western and eastern suburbs as well as the island city. During this exercise, we realised that the menace had reared its ugly head across Mumbai.
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21km
Length of LBS Marg
Oshiwara bus depot
On Friday, while visiting the northbound stretch of the footpath adjacent to New Link Road, it was observed that the bike dealers and shop owners had parked two-wheelers on the footpath opposite the Oshiwara and Goregaon bus depots. Due to this, senior citizens and small children had to step onto the busy road.
Shockingly, the authorities concerned, including the local traffic police division, seemed completely unconcerned about the situation.
An Oshiwara resident, who didn't wish to be named, said, "If you park your two-wheeler or automobile opposite the Oshiwara and Goregaon bus depot, the traffic police official will either tow your vehicle or give you an e-challan, but the same cops are least bothered about the illegal bike parking on footpaths, which hints at the fact that there is some sort of understanding between the errant bike dealers and the local traffic police authorities."
Andheri West
On Wednesday, when mid-day visited the New Link Road from DN Nagar to Lower Oshiwara station on the Metro 2B corridor, bikes were found parked on the footpath on the sides of the northbound stretch of the road opposite Vilas Bar, depriving pedestrians of space to walk.
Vile Parle East
The narrow Nehru Road, which links the eastern side of Vile Parle station to the Western Express Highway, is one of the prominent stretches in the suburbs and sees continuous traffic flow. Despite its footpaths being disjointed and barely two to three feet wide, there were numerous obstacles on them. But what caught our sight was how cars were parked on them. It seemed that the height of the sidewalks had been levelled to ensure cars could be parked evenly. Motorists were seen venturing onto sidewalks while manoeuvring their vehicles. A mid-day reporter witnessed a bike being towed by the traffic police at a petrol pump but the authorities turned a blind eye towards the big four-wheelers on footpaths.
Santosh Salgare, a resident, said, "The rules are different for different people. A few days back, when we requested the BMC to remove a stall from the footpath, they gave at least a dozen reasons why they couldn't do so, but the CM announced that he was visiting the road under the deep cleaning drive, the civic body removed that stall immediately. This is also seen in the case of illegal car parking and hawkers. The city won't be pedestrian-friendly until the BMC applies the same rules to everyone."
Kurla
Heavy vehicles belonging to scrap traders were parked on the footpath opposite the BEST depot at Kurla while two-wheelers were mainly parked on the pavements opposite Kurla Court and Phoenix Mall. "This stretch of footpaths is never used for pedestrians," said a passer-by who did not wish to reveal her name. "LBS Road sees heavy traffic constantly, but still we are forced to walk on the road," she added.
Ghatkopar
Four and two-wheelers were parked on the sidewalk near the BMC water department workshop. Bikes were also seen on the pavement opposite Shreyas Cinema. There are commercial and industrial establishments along LBS Marg, which is congested in some places. "As the footpaths have been taken over by vehicles, we have to walk on the road to get to our destinations," said Bhaskar Chavan, a pedestrian.
Vidyavihar
A one-kilometre-long line of heavy vehicles was seen on the pavement outside the Navy depot, which compelled pedestrians to walk on the road. Also, probably due to the presence of the vehicles, the footpath, which had been defecated on, wasn't cleaned properly.
Sion
The footpaths on both sides of the 21-km-long Lal Bahadur Shastri (LBS) Marg were encroached upon by garages and scrap shops at its point of origin, Sion, when mid-day visited the area.
Azad Maidan
Most footpaths were taken over by two-wheelers, inconveniencing pedestrians, on Tuesday. The Azad Maidan traffic division had also parked towed bikes on the footpath, exacerbating the situation. "It is deeply frustrating. While returning home from office, already tired, we have to deal with the footpath situation because of the presence of two-wheelers. On top of that, makeshift shops have encroached half of the pavement," said Shreyas Shinde, an office-goer.
Oval Maidan
A water tanker that supplies water to a building opposite Rajesh Mansion was parked in such a way that pedestrians had to walk on the road. "If the building needs water, let the tanker inside the premises. What is the need to block the footpath, endangering our lives," said a pedestrian. When mid-day visited the spot, the tanker had already been parked at the location for an hour, according to a security guard from a nearby building. The footpath outside the Industrial Assurance Building near Churchgate station, a short distance away from the Oval Maidan, was encroached upon by a number of makeshift shops and two-wheelers.
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