13 August,2011 07:44 AM IST | | Ranjeet Jadhav
While expensive foot overbridges on the Jogeshwari-Powai stretch of JVLR receive the cold shoulder from the public, cops are having a tough time managing both traffic and pedestrians, leading to some nasty snarls on the busy road
Finally accepting the fact that the costly foot-overbridge (FOB) on the Jogeshwari-Powai stretch of the Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road (JVLR) has failed to woo pedestrians, authorities have installed traffic signals and zebra crossings at the stretch to regulate the simultaneous flow of motorists and pedestrians and prevent accidents.
During peak hours, traffic crawls on the Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road
as pedestrians opt to use the road rather than the foot overbridge
This means that traffic still crawls on the stretch during peak hours, having to halt at intervals for pedestrians who prefer negotiating heavy traffic to scaling the steep heights of the FOBs.
Traffic policemen are of the opinion that the only solution to easing the traffic situation at the stretch is to construct underpasses or subways.
Speaking to MiD DAY, a senior traffic police official from Saki Naka said, "Between 9 and 12 am, and 6 and 10 pm every day, we have to regulate the movement of heavy traffic between Powai and Jogeshwari."
In the course of the construction of the JVLR, the MMRDA constructed FOBs, intending to ensure the uninterrupted flow of traffic and a fewer number of accidents.
But soon we realised that pedestrians were completely ignoring the FOBs, and decided to install traffic signals and demarcate zebra crossings to prevent them from getting run over.
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Now, the traffic has to halt at frequent intervals so that pedestrians can cross the road." MiD DAY had already reported that pedestrians were avoiding FOBs, owing to their lofty height. ('48 steps too many?')
Locals in the area are unanimous in their opinion that the MMRDA has wasted public money by constructing these expensive FOBs.
"Traffic jams in the Jogeshwari-Powai stretch will only increase in the future, as it is an important link between the eastern and western suburbs.
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The only solution is to construct subways, which will be accessible to pedestrians as well as three-wheelers."
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