Mike Metzer, a 29-year-old seasoned globe-trotter and travel blogger from California, is in Mumbai for the past four months. But he’s scared to move around in the city and prefers to stay in his familiar neighbourhood after sunset. The reason: lack of traffic signages to guide him back to the hotel in Colaba where he stays.
People visiting the city, a popular tourist destination, have been facing a major problem to move around with ease due to lack of proper signages and road maps.
The civic body has turned a blind eye towards this issue so far. In fact, there was no provision or emphasis on putting up sign boards in the city, which would help people navigate with ease. “It is true that many tourists find it difficult to roam around the city in the absence of enough signages. The issue of signages has never got the due importance as compared to other metropolitan cities such as Delhi and Bangalore,” admitted a senior civic official, requesting anonymity.
In a first, the traffic and co-ordination department of the BMC has floated a Rs10crore tender to install signages across the city following a high court order in 2012 in response to a public interest litigation filed in 2010 by the Bombay Bar Association.
“Subsequently, we intimated all the ward offices and the traffic police asking to send the requirement for installing signages in their areas. We have received around 9,116 requests for signages across the city, which include street names, junction and cautionary boards,” the official said.
“We have invited tenders worth Rs10 crore. About 9,820 signages, more than the requirement, will be put up across the city,” said the official.
The official added that the civic body had earlier floated a tender for the signages a few years back, but it could not be materialised due to technical issues. At present, the local ward offices of the civic body put up the signages after receiving requests from the traffic police, corporators, locals, activists and housing societies.
“We install signages as recommended by the traffic police immediately. As far as the requests received from others, we inspect the site and then take a decision,” said an official from traffic department.
Rules for signboards
To name streets and junctions, a proposal has to be approved by the civic body’s ward committee. Then it has to be unanimously approved by the general body meeting of the corporation before finally sent to the ward for the execution part. Even the signages are put up at junctions following requests from the traffic police. As for the cautionary boards like no parking, one way, no entry, silence zone, go slow, school ahead and speed breaker, the civic body installs the boards on the recommendations of the traffic police.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}