Ten personnel handle traffic on BA Road amid Elphinstone bridge closure
A traffic cop on a footpath along BA Road, where bollards are being redesigned. PIC/ATUL KAMBLE
The Mumbai Traffic Police assigned four police personnel to prevent two-wheelers from speeding on footpaths around the Khodadad Circle, popularly called the Dadar TT Circle, on Babasaheb Ambedkar (BA) Road on Thursday. In contrast, 10 traffic police personnel were assigned on duty to manage traffic congestion along the road due to the closure of the Elphinstone bridge.
The traffic police imposed penalties on 180 two-wheeler riders between September 15 (Monday) and September 18, according to information accessed by mid-day from the traffic police’s Matunga division.
The Mumbai Traffic Police had told mid-day, on Wednesday evening, that since the Elphinstone Bridge was being demolished by the civic body, BA Road gets choked not only by traffic heading towards the island city but also by motorists commuting between the east and west. The congestion has led to the problem of bikers venturing onto footpaths to cut short their commute time by a few minutes.
A senior traffic police official told mid-day, “Penalties are being imposed on motorists driving on footpaths and disregarding other traffic rules. It is not that this started only after complaints from residents on Tuesday night. However, it is impossible to monitor the entire stretch of the north and southbound portions. There is a larger issue here — motorists are breaking traffic rules, and this can be solved by design and physical interventions, apart from imposing penalties.
The traffic police wrote to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation on Wednesday evening, seeking that it install zig-zag bollards at entry and exit points of footpaths, to hinder bikers attempting to access pavements for bikers.
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