Rare spots in Mumbai where pedestrian is king

All is not lost yet There is some hope with a few footpath patches in Mumbai still existing undisturbed where the pedestrian is king even though they may be limited to a few metres If there are pavements that seem wider than roads near WadalaFive Gardens some are narrow but well secured with bollards in Colaba BKC too boasts of walkways that can be a walkerrsquos delight midday checks out a few that are a smooth walkAlso read No relief for walkers in quaint south Mumbai tooThe Wadala station approach road from Five Gardens PicRajendra AklekarAs part of our series lsquoNowhere to gorsquo midday went around the city looking for walkways that provide unobstructed and safe walking experience to Mumbaikars We came across many with wellpaved tiles and free of hurdlesGaurang Damani citizen activistNo hurdles no encroachmentThe business hub of BKC offers model pavements PicPradeep DhivarThe business hub of Bandra Kurla Complex or BKC is a walkerrsquos dream with wide and wellpaved footpaths without encroachments or hurdles ldquoThey are set well undisturbed and run for long stretches I come down during lunchtime to walk for 20 minutes on theserdquo said Sripad Athlaye an office manager at a corporate house adding that the template of BKC should be applied to other areas At BKC one can comfortably walk on the footpath right from the MTNL junction crossing many signalled intersections all the way to Kalanagar junction undisturbedNarrow or wide but maintainedMahim The pavement on Cadell Road Mahim PicRajendra AklekarThe pavements near the Bombay Scottish School along the Cadell Road are close to the ideal onesmdashwith bollards evenly paved and some even having tactile tiles A few on the opposite side of the road along the seaside are also well maintained ldquoAt some stretches they are narrow but used only by pedestrians including children The ideal thing about these is that there are not many ramps for twowheeler riders to climb upon these and have hence remained undisturbedrdquo said senior citizen Ashley Rodrigues a frequent visitor to the popular Dhotre Garden along the sea Another oldtime resident Aman Rastogi however lamented the fact that good quality footpaths vanished as one approached the Mahim Church from Cadell Road thanks to a myriad of factors Tiled and well securedThis part of Colaba Causeway has been kept free of hawkers PicsRajendra AklekarA number of small lanes behind the Gateway of India the Colaba market and Electric House have welltiled and long footpaths where pedestrians can walk without any hindrance Commercial buildings in the vicinity have placed potted plants in some places to keep off hawkers Being narrow these footpaths canrsquot be used to park vehicles as well Even the ones with ramps are narrow and with bollards ldquoThe secret here is that the footpaths are at a higher level than the roads and there is no ramp at every break which makes it difficult for twowheeler riders to climb on these Also being narrow bikers donrsquot bother to use them leaving them for pedestrians to walkrdquo said Rajkishore Panchal a guard outside a twostar hotelBollards have been installed to ensure that bikes donrsquot enter the footpath on this stretch in ColabaWelcome to walkersrsquo paradiseWadalaMatunga This road near Ruia College junction at Matunga boasts of a wide pavement PicRajendra AklekarThe Wadala Five Gardensrsquo stretch is a walkerrsquos delight The old British layout of the entire area is the key here as the footpaths are much wider compared to the otherparts of the city ldquoThe footpaths near WadalaFive Gardens are maintained well by the civic body and used well by local residentsrdquo said citizen activist Gaurang Damani who walks for about 40 minutes every day The ones near the VJTI on way to Wadala are quite peaceful to walk on found midday while the walkways near Ruia College IES School and on way to Dadar station in the east are also a pleasure to walk ldquoThere is a lot of greenery in the entire stretch with old and tall trees The footpaths are good and with the latest beautification drive the bus stops have also been designed well But one will appreciate if such footpaths are maintained for long stretches and not just a few metres unlike hererdquo said Jaydeep Singha another resident