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Walkability issues at Lower Parel

Business hub of Mumbai hardly has any space for pedestrians as pavements have been claimed by shop owners

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(clockwise): 1) Shopkeepers, vegetable-sellers occupy the footpath alongside Lower Parel’s old bridge; 2) Uprooted paver blocks on a footpath close to the Lower Parel station; 3) A dilapidated pavement close to Lower Parel’s fish market lie blocked for pedestrians.
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Mumbai's Lower Parel area has emerged as a business district in the last decade. More and more skyscrapers and corporate offices were developed in the suburbs and hence, the floating population rose manifold. Although the city witnesses a lot of development, the footpaths are still in a miserable condition. As a DNA reporter and photographer tried to make their way from the Lower Parel railway station, west, to the business park of Kamala Mills compound, they could not walk freely for even 100 metre at a stretch.

It was around 4 pm at Lower Parel. Although it was not office time, the road to the west of the railway station was full of pedestrians. There are footpaths on both the sides of the road but, only a few people were walking or barely managing to walk. The footpath on the right (which is 1.5 metre-wide) was fully occupied by a shop. The footpath on the left was mainly a passage for shopowners and customers. Also, many four-wheelers and two-wheelers block this pathway from the access of pedestrians.

"There is a MHADA building right outside the station and residents park their vehicles on the road blocking the area for commuters. If an incident like the Elphinstone stampede happens, there will be no way to escape the situation," said Shailesh Kasabe, employee, Adfactor PR in the Kamala Mills compound.

After the first 100-metre-walk, we took the left lane right before the Lower Parel flyover (now under construction). Right at the corner, a hawker was sitting alongside the electricity box blocking the footpath but, he was not the only one there. The entire stretch was occupied by vegetable-sellers. The road is closed for vehicles as the Delisle bridge is being rebuilt. As a result, the area has been tuned into a market. We tried to walk on that stretch but, after balancing our walk on uprooted paver blocks for around 50 metre, the whole footpath closed at the entrance of the next corporate office. We had to step down on the road and walk on it for at least 150 metre. The next stretch was comparatively free but, had uneven paver blocks.

We crossed the road at Senapati Bapat flyover and took the right side. There were no signages or zebra crossings. The corner of the footpath was broken and the electric wires had come out and were quite a threat. The worst part was the height of the footpath; hardly anybody could easily climb on to a two-foot-high footpath. The paver blocks were broken and even the cement covers for various utility wires and the gutter were unevenly placed. We then managed to cross the road with heavy and speedy traffic, without any crossing sign or signals, and luckily reached the entrance of Kamala Mills. The walk is more like an amusement park and certainly not suitable for daily commuters.

CRAMPED AND CONGESTED PASSAGES

Two-wheelers, four-wheelers are often parked on pavements close to Lower parel rail station

1.2km Stretch

15 minutes Walking time

The area consists of the Peninsula compound, Urmi Estate, Todi Mills, Kamala Mills compound, Cipla House, and bank offices like the Kotak Mahindra, DCB, ICICI, and HDFC

DAILY FOOTFALL: OVER 1 LAKH

The policy of having new footpaths is under consideration. The paperwork is in progress. Lower Parel will get a different kind of footpaths after the new policy is implemented. All paver blocks will be removed and a concrete layer of cement will be laid. We will make the footpaths free of encroachments and hawkers
Devendra Jain, assistant commissioner, G South Ward 

I am a frequent commuter. The Kamala Mills compound is close to the station yet, it is very difficult to walk on the footpaths because it is fully occupied. There are encroachments and shops everywhere
Milind Kambali, regular visitor, Kamala Mills 

I am coming to this place over the last six years. People can hardly walk. We walk on the road as it is even & has fewer hurdles
Swati Chawan, employee, Central Bank of India

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