Mumbai - Roads | Flyovers | Freeways

[bhargavsura]

Update on the bridge

MMRDA fails to meet June 10 deadline



WORK IN PROGRESS: The Bandra sky walk is likely to be inaugurated on June 18. PIC/NARENDRA DANGIYA

After failing to complete the sky walk at Bandra on January 26, this year, officials of Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA) had promised to deliver the sky walk on June 10. However, as you might have guessed, they failed to meet the deadline yet again.

Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh was set to inaugurate the city’s first skywalk that connects Bandra (E) station to Kalanagar, stretching 1.8 km and constructed at a cost of Rs 10 crore, at 3.30 pm today. However, the inauguration ceremony has been postponed by another five days.

Blame the rains

MMRDA officials said that the final stages of construction were halted due to heavy rains. An engineer from MMRDA said, “The rainwater causes short circuits that might prove life threatening for the workers.” MMRDA blames the rains for the five-day delay in completing the sky walk, else they believe, the sky walk could have opened for the public by June 15.

MMRDA Commissioner Ratnakar Gaikawad confirmed the stoppage in work. “We have asked the contractor to stop work. We have postponed the CM’s inauguration function by another five days and hope to complete the work by then.”

Presently, 95 per cent of work on the skywalk has been completed, barring connections of tube lights and other electrical fittings. The skywalk has seen a number of deadlines and each time the project has been delayed owing to several reasons. The MMRDA and BMC together have decided to construct 50 skywalks throughout Mumbai and its metropolitan region.

Source: Mid-day.com

[bhopalus]

wait, it looks like that bridge thing is going to be surrounded by glass. it might actually end up looking pretty good

[powai_mumbai]

does anyone has recent pics of the skywalk.
Just waiting to see how it would look.

Otherwise lets wait till june 18th, and it may surely come up as a National news item...

[bhargavsura]

The skywalk is here, but...Will you use it?

Author: Shashank Rao Date: 20 Jun 2008

It cost Rs 10 crore to build. But when Shashank Rao took a walk down the Bandra skywalk, which will finally open on June 26, he came away wondering why anyone would use it.


THE FIRST CHOICE? This 1.3-km skywalk, Mumbai’s first, will connect Bandra station (east) to Kalanagar. Pic/Sayed Sameer Abedi
WALK OF LIFE: The width of the Bandra skywalk is just four metres, which means it accommodates six people shoulder-to-shoulder at one time. pic/Sayed Sameer Abedi

Mumbai’s first skywalk from Bandra station (east) to Kalanagar will open to the public on June 26. But this reporter found several reasons why Mumbaikars wouldn’t opt for the Rs 10-crore skywalk…

Transport

Currently, people catch an auto or bus from Bandra station to reach BKC. Getting public transport will become difficult if they use the skywalk and come out at Kalanagar. The buses are already packed when they reach the Kalanagar stop. It is also rare to see an empty auto in the area. A transport expert feels commuters will be discouraged from using the skywalk unless there is better public transport at Kalanagar.

Stairs

There are approximately 20 stairs at each entry and exit point. Add to this the stairs one has to anyway climb from the Bandra station platforms to reach the first point of the skywalk and you have a major deterrent.

Space crunch

The MMRDA expects at least 80,000 people to use this skywalk in a day. But the width of the skywalk is just four metres, which accommodates six people across at one time. An MMRDA official, however, assured, “There will be enough space for people to walk, as there won’t be any hawkers to block the way.”

No punitive action

Also it is not mandatory for people to use this skywalk. A senior MMRDA official said, “The skywalk will ensure safe walking above the busy traffic, but we cannot force people to use it. They might still continue walking on roads.”

4
Number of entry and exit points — Bandra (E), Anant Kanekar Marg police chowkie, Western Express Highway and Kalanagar

500 m
The longest stretch with no exit point — between Anant Kanekar Marg and Western Express Highway

50
The number of other proposed skywalks, which includes the ones at Kanjurmarg, Masjid, CST and Churchgate

The silver lining

The total length of skywalk is 1.3 km. If you use the road for the same stretch, you will be walking a distance of nearly 1.5 km


VOICES

I’ll use it only if it’s raining. I don’t think it is of any use otherwise. What is the point of walking till Kalanagar and then waiting for a bus or auto? I would rather do the same from Bandra station itself.

Santosh Puplonde
Service

The government is constructing this skywalk just to attract offices at BKC. There is hardly any water logging or traffic jams on this stretch.

Manish Tank
Service

I will use the skywalk only if it is not crowded.

Jamshed Khan
Student

Source: Mid-day.com

[jubin]

[bhargavsura]

There are already three reasons why people won't use the Rs 13.63-crore Bandra (E) skywalk. Here's the fourth one.

The MMRDA will soon begin construction on an elevated autorickshaw deck (a flyover of sorts) parallel to the under-construction skywalk to ease traffic and commuter congestion on the road.

The elevated deck will start from Anant Kanekar Marg police chowkie (a three-minute walk from Bandra station) and end at exactly the same spot where the skywalk ends a few metres away on the other side of the road a total distance of 300 m.

Now, the MMRDA had planned to move most of the existing autorickshaw stand near the FOB of Bandra station to Kalanagar. So, commuters had to use the 1.3 km skywalk to get a rickshaw, which will not be necessary any more. The skywalk will open on June 26.
This elevated auto deck will cost Rs 30 crore. Dilip Kawatkar, joint project director, MMRDA, confirmed the move.

Other reasons

MiD DAY had earlier identified other important shortcomings in the skywalk.

Stairs: There are at least 20 stairs (approx) on each entry and exit point of the skywalk.
No punitive action: There is punishment for people using the skywalk.

Space crunch: The width of this skywalk is just four metres, which accommodates six people across, at any point of time. MMRDA expects at least 80,000 people to use this skywalk in a day.

Source: Mid-day.com

[zenith_suv]

Civic, Transport Agencies Join Hands With Mumbai Police And Come

Up With A Nine-Point Plan To Speed Up Traffic
Sharad Vyas | TNN


Mumbai: The state government has asked several agencies, which work on the city’s traffic problems, to work out a plan so that you can have a faster
road commute between home and office.


These agencies — the BMC, the MMRDA, the MSRDC, Mumbai Police and the BEST Undertaking — have already put their heads together and come up with a nine-point proposal that will improve the speed at which traffic moves in Mumbai.

The state government’s anxiety is understandable, say officials. The city’s vehicular population, which at present is 5 lakh, is projected to cross the million mark by 2011. The RTOs in Mumbai issue around 1,000 driving licences and around 400 new vehicles are registered in the city every day.

The maximum speed limit for both Western Express Highway and Eastern Express Highway is 60 kmph but motorists say the figure is a joke during morning and evening peak hours. But officials say the nine measures they have prescribed, if implemented, can increase the average traffic speed by at least 10 kmph.

Some of the nine measures, officials admit, are old plans. At least one of these — the proposal for an inland water transport scheme — is tied up in reams of red tape. And some of the other measures, like having dedicated lanes for BEST buses on Western Express Highway and Eastern Express Highway for a Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS), have been discussed before and still await implementation.

“But an honest implementation of even the other plans will work wonders on the road,’’ a senior state government official, involved in the planning process, said. “Besides, work on several of these projects — like Mumbai Metro — have already started and will be completed in a timebound manner,’’ he added. Mumbai Metro and the monorail are projects that officials are relying on heavily to minimise the load on the overburdened road and railway networks.

Even the piece-meal implementation of these nine plans has started yielding results, claim officials. Take, for instance, the plan to reduce parking on some of Mumbai’s major thoroughfares during the morning and evening rush hours. “Doing away with parking on arterial routes is already being implemented in several areas and the results are encouraging; this gives much more space to the carriageway,’’ joint commissioner of police (traffic) Sanjay Barve said.

The construction of skywalks in congested areas is one more plan on the ninepoint agenda that is already being implemented. The first of these, from Kalanagar to the Bandra railway station, is nearing completion. “These skywalks will reduce congestion on roads, leaving the carriageway for exclusive use by vehicles, and also minimise the risk that pedestrians face,’’ MSRDC managing director Satish Gavai said.

“We are hoping that these projects will reduce the number of accidents on the road and instil a sense of traffic sense in people’s mind,’’ transport commissioner S S Shinde said.

The other proposals, which have been passed on to the state government for its need, include reforms in the traffic system (see graphic).

Officials, however, admitted that most of the big projects had been delayed because of successive governments’ neglect. “The focus has more often been on improving the rural transport network,’’ a senior MMRDA official admitted.

THE AGENCIES

Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation | The civic agency is responsible for most of Mumbai’s roads and no plan to speed up traffic can be implemented without its participation.

Mumbai Police | Its traffic wing has to ensure that traffic flows freely; it also punishes people who violate rules.

Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority | The MMRDA is heavily into planning for solutions to reduce the city’s traffic woes. Many of Mumbai’s arterial roads and flyovers are MMRDA projects; it is also handling other big projects like the Mumbai Metro.

Mumbai State Road Development Corporation |
The agency is behind some of the key transport projects like the Bandra-Worli Sea Link.

Bombay Electric Supply and Transport Undertaking |
It runs all the buses in Mumbai. THE PLANS | A few of these nine plans have been discussed in the past and some are already being implemented
RESTRICT PARKING ON MAIN ROADS
The traffic police has already started implementing this plan in parts of the city and the suburbs to reduce travel time on some of Mumbai’s arterial roads by increasing space on the carriageway. This, in turn, will be done by restricting parking on these roads during peak hours. This is being implemented between Mahim Church and Siddhivinayak right now. Cops also have plans to restrict parking within 30 metres of important junctions to minimise congestion.


ENHANCING PENALTY FOR TRAFFIC VIOLATION

The traffic police is currently seeking legal opinion on enhancing punishment for the more serious violations like drunken driving and habitual offenders. A hike in punishment, feel officials, could act as a bigger deterrent.

TAKING PARKING UNDERGROUND

The BMC has proposed underground parking lots at 21 places across the city. The project, slated to be completed in two years, will decongest areas in and around the parking lots. Some of the locations selected for this are Flora Fountain, Nariman Point and Crawford Market and areas between Bandra and Vile Parle.

LET TRAFFIC COPS KEEP THE FINE

Fines collected by the traffic police are now passed on to the state government. The new proposal seeks to retain this amount with the traffic police so that it can be pumped back into
the force for its modernisation.

SKYWALKS

Both the MMRDA and the MRDS have carried out pre-feasibility studies for skywalks at 50 different in the city and the entire plan is likely to cost Rs 600 crore. Getting pedestrians off the road will give vehicles more space; pedestrians, at the same time, will benefit by getting dedicated paths for themselves and this will minimise chances of mishaps. The MMRDA will foot the bill for the project and will construct 32 of the skywalks; the remaining will be constructed by the MSRDC. A consultant has been appointed to prepare the design and the first of these skywalks, which is nearing completion, will serve Bandra (E).

MONORAIL

The proposed monorail lines will run from Wadala and Chembur and from Wadala to Jacob Circle. The plan is to, later, extend the Jacob Circle line to Malabar Hill. Another line, a third, will come up and run from Wadala to the BKC. The cost of the project is approx Rs 85 crore per kilometre. The agencies are also considering making the Hutatma Chowk-Ghatkopar route a monorail line instead of Metro. The other route being examined for monorail viability, instead of Metro, runs from Ghatkopar to Mulund.

DIGITISE TRAFFIC DATA

There is a proposal to make a provision in the state budget for digitising data of driving licences and registration figures. This will make it difficult for rogue drivers, with suspended licences, to hit the road again with duplicate licences from a different RTO.

DEDICATED BUS LANES

There are plans to have dedicated corridors, between the island city and the western and eastern suburbs, for BEST buses. BEST, MMRDA and BMC, besides the traffic wing of Mumbai Police, will have to work together to make this a reality.

INLAND WATER TRANSPORT

The MSRDC is planning to start a ferry service from Jamshedji Bunder to Nerul and from Versova to Nariman Point. The plans are to have several stops on both the routes so that it can take the load off road and rail transport. The project, however, is not moving forward right now because of a problem with the implementing agency.

It's the dedicated bus lanes plan which should give people the jitters , I suffered through it in Delhi but sincierly hope mumbai is not another victim of outdated planning.

all other stuff sounds great as usual but no concrete time frames has been given

[jodhpur]

http://www.ndtvkhabar.com/MoreVideos...030&status=tru

this link is to a video about foot bridge in mumbai this won't be avalable for long so be quick sorry if it's in a wrong thread...

[IU]

some pics and info on the 1st skywalk from an article in HT:






Route


Bandra station:

[ab041937]

Wow!! looks pretty decent. Still room for some pimp work.

[axw11]

The article mentions "Water drips from the roof"...What about water coming from the sides? Especially with the high wind u r gonna be all drenched...I thought it was going to be all covered from sides and top...bad

[bhargavsura]

Escalators needed here...please...

[saurabh85]

Its a good idea but i am worried about the structural integrity of the skywalk. If heavy vehicles make it vibrate how is it going to handle the rehabilitated hawkers. Once that's done i wonder if there is going to be any space to walk. Its like moving the chaos from ground to elevated level.

[scorpiogenius]

WOW! what a superb idea! looks graceful...
And I dont think its a matter of concern that the skywalk vibrates when vehicles pass beneath. It is not good making the structure too rigid. It does look sound, neat and elegant.

[jodhpur]

did anybody watch the video i posted about the skywalk????

[Illusionist]

My ten paisas!!

It looks ugly. If they are making 49 more of these then at least they could have made them prettier, better colour and better protection against rain and wind.

1. They need to have exits at every major location for optimum usage and to avoid stampede.
2. No potted plants PLEASE! Those will only consume space and make it look uglier due to lack of maintenance. Instead they should replace them with dustbins.
3. I would hate to see street vendors and beggars taking most of the space.
4. I would like to see it disabled friendly.
5. They can make some money by putting ads strategically, public phones etc.
6. If this structure fails and causes injury to the public then I support life sentence to the designers, contractors and the people who approved it.
7. In one of the pictures the angle of stairs looks too steep. May be it’s the angle of the camera but if it is not then I would like designers to look at it again.
8. They need to cover the railings from the floor up to the first pipe atleast. They can use metal mesh, or the same material the roof is made of. That would prevent small kids, trash, street dogs (sigh) and luggage of commuters accidentally falling on the busy street below.
9. It would be nice to have a PA system (aint the biggest priority)
10. Last but not the least; they need to have a lot of “Break glass in case of emergency” boxes with big guns. Just in case of an attack by zombies

[bhargavsura]

I wish there was an easier way for us to forward our concerns to someone who is ready to listen instead of being adamant about it!!!

[Illusionist]

BTW below is the Renderings i got from mumbaipluses.com


If the above rendering were official then i am seriously pissed. they didnt deliver what they promised.
http://www.mumbaipluses.com/Dombival...&comments=true

[powai_mumbai]

The skywalk looks very simple. The floor tiles used is already looking dirty and of low quality on the first day itself.
They could have improved by shielding the sides with glass and using much more better color scheme. The roof could be improved by putting in tinted glasses.
Anyways, i think this is a good learning experience guys, and am sure that the upcoming Skywalks would definitely be much better than this.

[Bombay Boy]

supposedly some of the roof blew off on the first day itself. could be fatal for someone below. this is such a poorly executed project its unbelievable