No signal, no zebra crossing: Plaza Cinema junction turns deadly for pedestrians

Commuters struggle to cross the busy Plaza Cinema junction. Pic/Sameer Sayyed Abedi

What was once a busy but manageable crossing near Mumbai's iconic Plaza Cinema has now turned into one of the city's most dangerous pedestrian junctions. The crisis at the spot is not limited to the absence of a zebra crossing; instead, it is the result of multiple infrastructure disruptions converging at one point, leaving pedestrians exposed and vulnerable.

The demolition of the Elphinstone bridge has diverted a massive volume of traffic onto Tilak bridge, transforming it into a 24x7 arterial route. Adding to the chaos is the ongoing construction of additional lanes on Tilak bridge, which has narrowed carriageways, altered traffic flow and created unpredictable vehicle movement. Spillover traffic now hits the Plaza Cinema junction from three directions, with hundreds of vehicles passing every minute.

Heavy traffic snarls build up at the Plaza junction after bridge diversions

For pedestrians, the situation is perilous. With no dedicated crossing, no traffic-calming measures and no protective infrastructure such as pedestrian signals or barricades, commuters are forced to dash across fast-moving traffic. Office-goers, senior citizens, daily-wage workers and students risk their lives every day, timing their steps between buses, trucks, taxis and two-wheelers.

"Stopping vehicles by showing a hand is the only way out. It's not even a simple, straight, one-way road. If someone comes out of Dadar railway station and needs to go towards Shiv Sena Bhavan, he or she has to cross twice - once from the station to the circle, and then from the circle to the road leading to Shiv Sena Bhavan. It takes at least seven to eight minutes to complete both crossings," said Vivek Singh, who works at a café in Shivaji Park and walks daily from Dadar station to Shivaji Park.

Echoing the concern, 71-year-old Meera Naik, who lives beside Plaza Cinema, told mid-day, "I walk to Shivaji Park every evening to meet my friends. By God's grace, I am healthy enough to walk, though slowly. But the stalls on the footpath, hundreds of vehicles moving at high speed, and the lack of a signal or zebra crossing have made it nearly impossible to cross. It's scary, and in the last two to three months, traffic has increased even more."

Meera Naik, a resident living near Plaza Cinema. Pic/Ritika Gondhlekar

Traffic police personnel posted at the junction admit they are stretched thin. With continuous congestion, erratic vehicle movement and pressure to keep traffic flowing, pedestrian safety often takes a back seat. Officials are frequently seen firefighting congestion rather than proactively managing crossings.

"We deal with at least two incidents every day where pedestrians fight with drivers, or drivers argue among themselves after applying sudden brakes due to people crossing randomly. Ideally, it is the responsibility of the authority that owns the road - whether BMC or MMRDA - to paint zebra crossing markings," said Manohar Patil, sub-inspector, traffic police, deployed at the spot.

Meanwhile, the Shivaji Maharaj Park ALM has repeatedly taken up the issue with authorities, but to no avail. "We have written about the crossing near Shivaji Park, but the traffic extends till the end of Dadar TT Circle, with heavy congestion near Plaza and Shiv Sena Bhavan. What we have observed as local residents is that the traffic problem is not only due to the Elphinstone bridge demolition; it existed even earlier.

In the evening, when it should normally take five to seven minutes to cross Tilak bridge, it now takes at least 20 minutes by vehicle. We have also seen two-wheelers using the footpath from Kohinoor Square Mall up to the start of Tilak bridge. This must be stopped as pedestrian safety is completely compromised.

The Dadar traffic police division has done nothing despite repeated complaints to the previous senior PI, Shinde. Residents cannot even walk on the footpath. This is a total failure of traffic police and local authorities," said Vaibhav Rege, secretary, Shivaji Maharaj Park ALM. mid-day tried reaching out to BMC G-North officer Vinayak Vispute for a comment, but he was unavailable till the time of press.