Beautification row: New dividers eating into road space

The beautification drive taken up by the BMC has led to a major upheaval as dividers which were in good shape are being uprooted to make way for new tall ones ostensibly to avoid jaywalkers Though wellintentioned this is leading to two problems The first is that citizens are not able to cross the roads easily The second and more important one is that the gaps between the dividers are being used by twowheelers and auto rickshaws to make Uturns thus leading to traffic disruptionOfficials from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation said that the reason they were removing flat dividers and installing tall ones instead is to stop people from crossing roads anywhere which leads to traffic disruption and may also lead to accidents An official added that they are keeping gaps at adequate distances so people can cross the road from the designated placesCitizen activists however are of the view that the move is a waste of public money and gives preference to motorists instead of pedestriansNew tall dividers installed on SV Road in Malad West PicSatej ShindeldquoFlat dividers are being obliterated under the new onslaught of the R1700crore Mumbai beautification project A dense city like Mumbai needs frequent crossing of pedestrians These are city roads not highways Raised dividers are only carfriendly and send a message against anybody who does not go point to point in carsrdquo said Rishi Aggarwal who launched the Walking Projectmdashan ambitious attempt to give Mumbai the best walking environmentAlso Read Mumbai BMC creates gap in divider outside Churchgate stationHuman rights activist Mohammed Afzal said ldquoIn one sense it is ok but it would be difficult for senior citizens who will have to walk 250 metres or so to cross the road now Secondly I have been insisting that zebra crossings with thermoplastic paint should be applied wherever pedestrian crossing is given Thirdly in the BMC apex committee meetings we have been demanding for disabledfriendly footpaths for the entire suburbs but nothing has changed yet Here the footpaths are more than 14inches high which is not just difficult for the disabled but also for senior citizens After years of pressing for disabledfriendly footpath as a pilot project a small step was erected on the footpath opposite Andheri station for the convenience of citizens But this needs to be replicated across the cityrdquoArun Sidhu a Kandivli residentExpertSpeakldquoMedians can be developed as beautification elements but are primarily safety elements designed to maintain traffic flow and order However it is imperative that medians not be built in isolation but with regards to the context they are placed in If designed incorrectly they can act as dividers and barriers between communities living on two sides of a street and may also act as a deterrent to people crossing the street based on desire lines in active urban areas said Abhimanyu Prakash regional lead Asia and Africa Global Designing Cities Initiativemdasha partner under the Bloomberg Initiative for Global Road SafetyHe added that the Global Street Design Guide a publication endorsed by the City of Mumbai recommends that in dense urban areas like in Mumbai pedestrian crossings should be placed every 80100 metres and definitely not more than 200 m apart Hence while creating median dividers it is critical to consider frequent midblock crossings with refuge islands and traffic signals where need be to create safe and permeable neighbourhoods in our cityTest driveA midday team recently travelled between Andheri and Dahisar in the western suburbs to see the locations where beautification work is ongoing The correspondents also spoke to locals to gauge their reaction There were many places where flat dividers which were in good shape and even had plants in the median strip were being uprooted so the tall ones could be installed80Distance in metres to be kept between gaps in dividerSV Road Malad West to Kandivli WestNewly installed dividers on SV Road in Malad West PicSatej ShindeWhile travelling along SV Road from Malad West to Kandivli West the correspondents spotted several places where old dividers were being replaced Though there were gaps some citizens complained about facing problems while crossing the road as the height of the dividers has increasedArun Bhakta a 75yearold who was crossing the roadA local shopkeeper who did not wish to be named said there was no need to replace the old dividers ldquoThe old dividers were in good shape I really donrsquot know why the authorities had to replace them with the new dividers What they are doing is nothing but a waste of public money The new dividers are vertical which make it difficult for people to cross the roadrdquoCharkop RoadA part of the Charkop Road has been closed for divider replacement work PicSuraj PandeyThe situation was the same on Charkop Road in Kandivli West too Anil A a Charkop resident said ldquoUnder the name of beautification the government is wasting public money by unnecessarily replacing dividers If they really cared for people they would concentrate on pedestrian safety and make the footpaths walkable and encroachmentfreerdquoSunil Lakan another local said ldquoIn the process of replacing the flat medians with the vertical ones the width of the existing road decreases by a few inches Rather than wasting money the BMC should concentrate on upgrading the quality of the hospitals and other important public infrardquoSV Road to Link Road KandivliThe new dividers installed on MG Road in Kandivli PicSuraj PandeyWork to replace the dividers was in progress on the stretch which links SV Road and Link Road in Kandivli It is pertinent to note that the new dividers occupy more space than the old ones thus reducing the width of the road by a few inchesArun Sidhu a daily commuter who takes the road said ldquoI was shocked to see that the dividers which were completely fine are being replaced with new ones I do not understand the need for this when the old ones were not broken or damaged They are wasting taxpayersrsquo money in the name of beautificationrdquo