Parking pressures bore down on downtown South Mumbai

Areas outside the city’s iconic landmarks in the Fort-Colaba-Marine Drive axis (Ward A) have for the past decade been afflicted with terrible traffic snarls, worsened by a deficiency of parking spaces. So much that vehicles parked chaotically on the road are blocking passage, which would be disastrous in situations like a fire breakout.

Downtown Mumbai is crippled due to parking along both sides of the narrow lanes it is famous for. A large number of vehicles — of residents, visitors and office-goers — line both sides of roads day and night.

The fire brigade is not happy with the chock-a-block roads. They hold back its fire engines from getting to the site of a call. “We face traffic problems across the city, but SoBo’s narrow lanes crammed with vehicles worsens the situation. We use small tankers for this part of the city but that doesn’t help all the time,” said a senior fire official.

The BMC’s road-widening work next to Bombay Hospital, on Azad Maidan Road, is halfway done, but the bonus space is static with stationary vehicles. “Widening of the narrow lane after monsoon to ease traffic in emergency situations. But the civic body has to solve the issue of parked vehicles,” said Vinayak Dhanavade, a chemist near the hospital.

Pasta Lane, Shahid Bhagat Singh Road, Woodhouse Road and Colaba Market all face the same situation. JJ Gidwani, secretary of a building at Pasta Lane, said, “Many two-wheelers, including ours, are parked on the road. There’s no other space. We fear to think what would happen if a fire tender needs to go through.”

“There are many reserved parking plots Ward A, but BMC is not doing much to develop them,” said Makrand Narvekar, the corporator from Colaba. Transport expert Ashok Datar said, “We don’t have a parking policy. What BMC published was parking tariffs. We should understand this and work on it as it is going to affect lives.”

PARKING IN A SPOT: WHAT’S AFFLICTING COMMUTE IN SOBO

• Narrow lanes
• Insufficient parking  spots in residential buildings
• More than two vehicles per home
• Officer goers need to park vehicles in the business district
• Landmark tourist spots like the Gateway, the jetty
• Restaurants and nightclubs
• Currently there is also the underground Metro construction