Test Drive: How Mumbai Coastal Road will create new bottlenecks

After the Coastal Road was thrown open to the public on Tuesday midday decided to travel the distance along with urban planning and transport experts to understand just how these projects will benefit Mumbaikars We started our ride with two expertsmdashAlan Abraham a city planner and Chetan Bordawekar a transport expert We began from S V Road in Bandra at 922 amThe aim was to assess the impact of the Bandra Worli Sea Link BWSL a part of the Coastal Road that opened in 2009 15 years ago Without much difficulty we took the road towards BWSL and after paying a oneway toll of Rs 85 for using the 42 km long bridge we arrived at Worli by 931 am ldquoEven during peak hours most lanes of the bridge are empty which indicates that the authoritiesrsquo claims regarding ridership were incorrectrdquo explained Alan The authorities hoped that around 15 lakh vehicles would ply daily on the sea link but contrary to that only around 40000 vehicles use it dailyHowever the transport expert disagreed ldquoThe bridge helped decongest the Mahim route People who can afford the toll can reach Worli within 8 to 10 minutes much faster than the 4050minute trafficrdquo said Chetan The traditional BandraWorli route still faces traffic congestion as commuters are unwilling to pay the tollAlso Read Mumbai Coastal Road project Heres all you need to knowINS Worli to entry point of the Coastal RoadTraffic slowed down after leaving the sea bridge The twolane road couldnrsquot handle the influx from the fourlane bridge causing an 8minute delay in covering just 16 km ldquoThis is exactly the problemrdquo said transport expert Chetan ldquoThe connecting roads within the city canrsquot handle the traffic from the new road Therersquos no lastmile connectivityrdquoExperts Alan Abraham and Chetan Bordawekar on the newly opened Coastal Road PicsShadab KhanTill Amarsons interchangeAs we started our journey on the coastal road Alan a city planner pointed out the promenade on the righthand side ldquoWhat is the use of open space that is out of reach for the public We filed a PIL against it in the high court and we hope the hearing will take place soonrdquo said Abraham Bordawekar raised a question about a separate lane for BEST buses ldquoIt is commendable to make a lane for public transport but who will use these stops in the middle of the road to board or alight from buses The nearest building is at least a 10minute walk through underpassesrdquo We reached the Amarsons interchange which is five kilometres away from the Worli entry point within five minutesAmarsons interchangeAt the Amarsons interchange the narrow road situation in Worli repeats itself Vehicles must head north before making a Uturn just like before After experiencing this we returned to the coastal road via the Amarsons interchange The traffic expert noted long queues of kaalipeeli taxis at the CNG station often spilling onto the road and causing disruptions ldquoThis will impact traffic heading towards the coastal roadrdquo Chetan explainedOn the way from Worli to Amarsons PicShadab KhanTunnelDubbed an ldquoundersea tunnelrdquo despite being firmly on land the bumpy concrete Malabar Hill tunnels of the Coastal Road left a sour note ldquoHow can it be an undersea tunnel It is under the land and not the sea Important routes like the sea link and Coastal Road which face the same weather and are built for heavy traffic are made of mastic whereas the BMC sold us the idea of concrete for small alleys in the city Citizens should think about itrdquo said AlanOutside tunnelThe tunnel ends at Marine Drive just before the Princess Street flyover the narrow exits are forcing CRPF deployment for traffic control ldquoThis issue repeatsrdquo said transport expert Chetan Bordawekar ldquoExit points canrsquot handle traffic and people need to reach places beyond the ring roadrdquoTake awayA tollfree coastal road helped commuters reach Marine Lines within 10 minutes but created new bottlenecks at Worli due to poorly designed entry points at the junction Although it benefited southbound traffic additional signals hampered northbound flow City planner Alan Abraham and transport expert Chetan Bordawekar on a firstday ride highlighted how the Rs 14000 crore project serves only 03 per cent of commuters lacks lastmile connectivity and offers minimal utility for public transport The promised promenades parking lots and a partially opened road fall short of their intended purposeInside the tunnel under the Malabar Hill PicShadab KhanCommuters saySumer Surana CA ldquoI stay in Worli and it takes almost 40 minutes to reach my office at Marine Lines I used the Coastal Road today and got there within 10 minutes It is really helpfulrdquo Ashok Kambale taxidriver said ldquoIt is a big relief I drove a passenger today through the Coastal Road It was a quick ride otherwise I would have to wait at every traffic signal There wasnrsquot any toll eitherrdquoBEST laneThere is a separate lane for BEST buses on the Coastal Road But BEST undertaking does not have any plan to start a bus service on the road yet ldquoThe road is partially open It is not possible to start a route only one way Once the road is fully operational we will think over itrdquo said a spokesperson of the BEST ldquoI donrsquot think even motorists will use this western cost highspeed corridor from the Virar or Dahisar as most of the part of the road will have a tollrdquo said Chetan Alan also agreed ldquoThey allowed BEST buses on Bandra Worli Sea Link also but not a single bus runs on itrdquoParking and promenade scamThe BMC has plans to build three parking lots with a capacity for 1856 cars along the coastal road ldquoWho will park their vehicles at least two km away from their residence or offices Also the open space along the road is a big scam A landscape cannot be termed as an open space if it is out of reach of the common publicrdquo said AlanToll and lastmile connectivityTransport expert Chetan Bordawekar identified a potential traffic bottleneck ldquoThe Mumbai Coastal Road will create a new traffic convergence point at Worli near Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan Road Worli sea facerdquo During observations motorists opted for the tollfree coastal road bypassing the BandraWorli Sea Link Compared to the Sea Link the coastal road currently sees higher traffic due to the toll disparity This situation is likely to persist even after connection potentially causing congestion at Worli ldquoThis toll difference will make Worli the next traffic hotspotrdquo Bordawekar expressedBordawekar criticised the projectrsquos piecemeal opening ldquoOpening only half the road disrupts traffic flow and offers minimal value to public transport since there are currently no bus servicesrdquo Bordawekar emphasised the lack of lastmile connectivity ldquoThe project fails to address crucial lastmile connections evident in the congestion at Worli and potential impact on Malabar Hill JunctionrdquoBordawekar expressed doubts about the Western Corridorrsquos public transport utility ldquoThe lack of lastmile connectivity makes it impractical for buses Additionally tolls on most routes increase commuting costs for ordinary citizensrdquoWorli entry timings changedThe Worli entry of the Coastal Road will remain open from 8 am to 5 pm from Monday to Friday Earlier the BMC had announced that it will be open from 8 am to 8 pm on weekdays But the traffic police announced the change in timing DPC of Traffic Anil Kumbhar said ldquoEntry from Worli Sea Face will be closed after 5 pm As traffic northbond traffic will increase after 5 pm For traffic management we have taken this decision While entry from the Lotus junction will be open till 8 pmrdquo On the first day cops closed entry from Worli which confused motorists Kumbhare said ldquoIt was predecided that entry from Worli will close after 5 pmrdquoTravel timeSV Road Lucky Hotel Junction to Worli Exit Sea Link857 minutes 10 kmINS Tratra Junction to Bindu Madhav Thackeray Junction Coastal Road1036 minutes 2 kmWorli Entry to Amarsons Connector Interchange736 minutes 5 kmMukesh Chowk to Amarsons Connector Interchange3 minutes 07 kmAmarsons Connector Interchange to Marine Lines Exit521 minutes 4 km130000Estimated no of vehicles expected to use the Coastal Road daily150000Projected no of vehicles that were to ply on the BandraWorli Sea Link daily40000Actual no of vehicles that use the BandraWorli Sea Link16 331No of vehicles that used the Coastal Road on Tuesday