In Andheri-Dahisar stretch, you can't even see the footpath

Cars and bikes parked on the footpath outside Maruti Suzuki showroom on New Link Road, Goregaon West. Pic/Nimesh Dave

Residents along the Link Road stretch between Andheri and Dahisar will be forgiven for forgetting what a footpath looks like. Most are forced to walk on the roads, dodging high-speed traffic, thanks to the majority of footpaths here being encroached by showroom cars, bikes, autos and taxis.

Where did the footpaths go? That's the question that has residents along the stretch between Andheri and Dahisar link road in the western suburbs scratching their heads. Most footpaths here have been swallowed up by car showrooms trying to guarantee maximum visibility of their high-end products, rules be damned, or, under haphazardly parked cars, bikes and auto-rickshaws. That the traffic situation here is straight out of hell, is an understatement. Pedestrians here truly have nowhere to walk and complaints to officials mostly fall on deaf ears, they say.

Goregaon Mulund link road
Goregaon Mulund Link Road, too, has illegal car parking, but it is far lower compared to that on the other link road as the footpath height here is far higher, with barricades placed along the edges.

However, when we visited the Goregaon Mulund Link Road stretch between SV Road junction in Goregaon and Inorbit Junction we found that the west-bound stretch of road just before Rustomjee building, was illegally used by an automobile shop owner to park his cars.

A bus stop and a parked taxi have completely blocked a footpath

On the eastbound stretch of the road, auto-rickshaws and cars were parked by individuals just 300metres before S V Road junction.

New Link Road, Malad, near Chincholi Bunder
The New Link Road stretch sees high volume of traffic. Thanks to footpaths here being severely encroached by illegally parked vehicles, pedestrians are forced to walk in the middle of high-speed traffic.

Cars on the footpath outside Modi Hyundai showroom near Chincholi Bunder signal. Pic/Nimesh Dave

mid day visited the stretch off New Link Road between Goregaon and Mith Chowki signal and found cars belonging to automobile showroom owners parked on the footpath .Vehicles from the Modi Hyundai showroom, close to the fire brigade office on Link Road, just 200 metres before the Chincholi Bunder signal, have encroached on the footpath.

Pedestrians in a hurry have no option but to use the road. A little ahead, entire footpaths are encroached on by garages using it to repair vehicles, and a large part where footpaths have even gone missing.

Missing footpath on Link Road

The scene is no different between Chincholi Bunder signal and Inorbit signal, where another automobile showroom owner has parked his vehicles on the footpath. With the ongoing construction work of the Dahisar DN Nagar Metro line 2A, there is hardly any space left for pedestrians to walk on, making it an extremely frustrating proposition here.

Readers respond to mid-day's campaign to clear city's pavements
Why are pedestrians' rights never considered by officials?

RJ Khurana
In the scheme of things for the government, pedestrians/foot walkers just do not matter. While crores of rupees are spent in creating facilities for those using various modes of transport, nothing is being done for pedestrians. Even the existing footpaths/walkways/pedestrian crossings are fast disappearing for lack of official concern/accountability. This is despite the fact that increase in vehicular traffic notwithstanding, there has been no fall in the number of pedestrians.

Amit Ahuja
Today's biggest issue has been taken up quite late. If this is what the BMC had been interested in solving earlier, the ad created for vechicles to stop before the zebra crossing line should also show the use of footpaths for pedestrians to walk on. Pedestrians should use footpaths extensively and make it difficult for cars and two-wheelers to park.

Ajit Pillai
Kudos to mid-day, for its campaign to clear the city's pavements. Pavements are encroached on by shopkeepers to display their wares, street vendors, garage owners and others, forcing pedestrians to walk on the roads, inviting accidents to happen.

Abdul Rauf Khan
The worst of the parking woes in the city is at Noor Hospital in Kurla West, near the bus depot. Vehicles are parked on the road and footpath, making life hell for everyone. When I had approached the hospital management they sent me to the traffic police chowky. There, the traffic police threatened to register a case against me. That is how citizens who protest against these illegalities are treated.

Also Read: mid-day campaign: Hawkers, parked cars push pedestrians on to the roads

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