For the month it will take to demolish the Lalbaug flyover, cops plan to allot the bylanes near the garden for parking
For the month it will take to demolish the Lalbaug flyover, cops plan to allot the bylanes near the garden for parking
At the stroke of the midnight hour today, the nightmare begins for those living in and around Lalbaug. As the demolition of the 38-year-old Lalbaug flyover gets under way, residents have to give up their space, quite literally.
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End of the road: Vehicles will not be allowed to park near the Lalbaug flyover, as the demolition of the flyover begins at midnight. The bylanes near Five Gardens will be converted into a temporary parking lot for the next 25 days, which will raise pollution levels in the area. FILE PICS |
Since no vehicles will be allowed to park near the flyover, the traffic police have made alternate arrangements the bylanes near Five Gardens will be converted into a temporary parking lot for the next 25 days, which is a minimum 15-minute drive from the demolition site.u00a0 Sanjay Barve, joint commissioner of police (traffic), said, "Vehicles can be parked in the bylanes of Five Gardens, where traffic is less."
As of now, the BMC and the traffic police haven't granted permission for using the open ground at Five Gardens for parking, but they are considering the option.
It's the ever-increasing problem of lack of parking facilities in the city that has left the authorities with no choice, but to give a go-ahead for parking near Five Gardens.u00a0"Vehicles cannot be parked at the sides of the road near the flyover, as there is not enough space. Unless there are underground parking lots in Mumbai, areas like Five Gardens will continue to suffer," said a BMC official.
Though an underground parking lot has been proposed on the Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Road, the project is in the planning stage.
According to officials from the traffic department, around 900 vehicles ply per lane on this road every hour. (The road has eight lanes). And with the influx of vehicles near Five Gardens, the pollution levels in the area are bound to rise.
Sanjay Khandare, secretary, Maharashtra Pollution Control Board, said, "The entry of large number of vehicles near the bylanes of Five Gardens will increase the pollution levels there."
Coming up...The demolition will make way for a new 2.5 km flyover, which will start from Jijamata Udyan, Byculla, and end at the Bharatmata Junction, Parel.
The razing of the flyover is expected to take 25 days and the new flyover will be completed by March 2010.
The demolition of the Lalbaug flyover was postponed after locals demanded that the work be started only after school and college examinations were over.
