Members from the Save AMC group claim this will bring down traffic drastically during morning and evening peak hours and promote cycling culture; have forwarded the proposal to BMC and Aarey officials
In an attempt to reduce vehicular movement inside Aarey Milk Colony during peak hours and promote cycling among residents and visitors, the Save Aarey Milk Colony group aka Save AMC group has asked authorities to construct cycling tracks inside the colony.
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Eco-warriors claim residents avoid cycling inside Aarey colony due to bad roads. File pic
Manish Gadia from Save AMC said, “We request the civic body and Aarey management to build new roads — main and arterial — immediately. Roads that were repaired recently and have survived the rains can be exempted.
Good roads will automatically encourage people to ride cycles, which the residents currently avoid due to bad roads.” Ever since the toll collection was scrapped and the main road was taken over by the BMC to build the proposed Goregaon-Mulund Link Road (GMLR), vehicular movement inside Aarey colony has increased, claimed Save AMC members.
They said maximum traffic is experienced during morning and evening peak hours — between Powai and Goregaon — when people are either going to work or returning home. “We want a cycling infrastructure to come up in Aarey. This can be developed with the help of a private firm that can issue cycles on lease for the project.
Buffer zones of various national parks have such infrastructure. A similar project was recently inaugurated in Pench National park. Good roads will lead to an increase in the number of Mumbaikars using Aarey for jogging and other fitness-related purposes,” said Gadia.
‘Feasibility study must’
A rough plan for the same has already been forwarded to the authorities concerned and the Save AMC group has demanded a feasibility study before the final decision is taken.
“A monthly membership fee will ensure that the project is a revenue-driven exercise or part of CSR for cycle manufacturers and other corporates. To start with, 10 cycles each can be kept at newly constructed stands
at Goregaon, Powai and Marol for which a test run can be undertaken.
In fact, we believe, cycles on weekends will be extensively used by residents and visitors to explore Aarey’s nature and its abundant biodiversity,” Gadia said.
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