Breach Candy residents submit revised ‘Parking Plan’ to BMC and Traffic Police to ease congestion in the area | Representational Image
Mumbai: The Breach Candy Residents Forum (BCRF) has submitted its plan for overground parking lots on the Bhulabhai Desai Road and the Breach Candy area to the authorities. The plan, which consists of separate parking lots, accommodating a total of a maximum of 867 vehicles, comes after the BMC stalled its plan to construct a two-storeyed underground parking at Breach Candy along the Coastal Road.
The Free Press Journal had reported in its May 15 edition that the Breach Candy residents had prepared an alternative plan to submit to the BMC. “The initial plan consisted of accommodating around 250 vehicles. After deliberations, a revised plan has been made and submitted to the BMC and the Traffic Police. We had site visits with the Tardeo senior traffic inspector on Monday, and we are scheduling a meeting with the BMC Commissioner soon,” said Breach Candy resident N Lakhani.
The parking plan is broadly divided into ‘Residents Pay & Park zones’ and ‘Visitors Pay & Park zones’. The residents’ parking is proposed at five locations: Behind Indian Oil Petrol Pump, L&T site office, in front of Signature Garden, Mona Apartment Lane and Akruti Pay & Park facility, with a total capacity of accommodating a maximum of 195 cars.
While the visitors’ parking spaces are proposed at Setalvad Lane, Amarsons Garden Lane, Mazda and Dil Pazir, Sehar Agiary Lane, BCH Parking, Navroze, Akruti and the Haji Ali underground parking facility, accommodating a total of maximum 672 vehicles.
Lakhani said, “The Coastal Road from Bandra-Worli sealink to Marine Drive will be open for traffic movement 24/7 from July. Additionally, sooner or later the promenade alongside the Coastal Road will be open to the public sooner or later. Thus, there will be more traffic flow and visitors in the Breach Candy and nearby areas. We expect the authorities to work on the execution of the parking plan soon.”
The proposal is been made as the BMC had asked the BCRF to suggest an alternative parking space after the original plan of underground parking was shelved, following intense objections from the residents.
The underground parking was slated to come up behind Tata Garden at Amarsons junction, accommodating 246 vehicles. As the BMC started the work, the residents voiced concerns over the traffic congestion that would come with the construction of the two-storey underground parking lot in the area.
The parking at Amarsons junction was one of the four parking facilities planned along the arterial Coastal Road project. Collectively, the four parking lots would accommodate more than 1,850 vehicles. BMC said the proposal for all parking lots had received all prerequisite approvals in the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) plan.
