Navi Mumbai: Work of cycle track along Palm Beach Road to start soon

The work on the dedicated cycle track along the Palm Beach Road under the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) will soon start. The civic body has completed the tendering process and the groundbreaking ceremony to start the actual work may happen very soon.

The civic body had planned the groundbreaking ceremony for February 6, 2022. However, the plan was canceled following the demise of Lata Mangeshkar. Now, the civic body will finalise another date for starting the work.

According to the civic body, the cycle track will be ready for the public in the next year. The proposed Cycle Track along the Palm Beach Road will be developed from Killa junction in Belapur to Moraj circle in Sanpada. The civic body has already received approval from the Forest department in Nagpur.

Eknath Shinde, Guardian Minister of Thane and Urban Development minister and Thane MP Rajan Vichare was instrumental in executing the project. “We have sought time for the groundbreaking ceremony and it will happen very soon,” said a senior official from NMMC.

The civic body had planned the 7.5 km cycle long back in 2018-19. However, it required a number of permissions from Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) to the Forest department. In 2021, the civic body received all required permissions.

The city has a number of good roads that attract motorists to drive their vehicles. However, the city does not have a dedicated cycle track for cycling enthusiasts. “This will be first-of-its-kind to have a fence for the safety of cyclists. It will have also resting places between small distances,” said another senior official, associated with the project. The cycle track will be 3 meters wide with sculptures and fountains at places.

In the last few years, the trend of cycling has grown and many cyclists are seen along Palm Beach Road and other roads. However, they feel unsafe as there is no dedicated track for cycling.