Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has intensified its ‘Pedestrian First’ campaign, with civic officials and urban mobility experts calling for coordinated measures to make Mumbai a safer and more pedestrian-friendly metropolis. In its first phase of the campaign, the BMC has targeted 200 footpaths for encroachment removal, and work has already begun on 136 footpaths.
246 Km Footpaths Made Obstruction-Free
So far, around 246 km of footpaths have been made obstruction-free, with action taken at 1,711 locations across all 26 civic wards.
The 'Pedestrian First' campaign is being implemented across the city by the BMC in accordance with Supreme Court directions to remove unauthorised hawkers and encroachments from footpaths and make them obstruction-free.
Railway Station Areas Under Special Focus
The BMC has been focusing on clearing roads and footpaths around railway stations and so far it has removed encroachments and cleared footpaths around railway stations including like Andheri, Vile Parle and Jogeshwari West, Bhandup and will continue in Kanjurmarg, Mulund and Ghatkopar in coming days.
Experts Highlight Need For Better Walking Infrastructure
A brainstorming session involving civic officials, engineers, urban planners and pedestrian-mobility experts was held recently in Byculla, where Urban Works Institute founder Shreya Gadepalli highlighted the disparity between road space occupied by private vehicles and the number of people they carry. According to her presentation, around 50% of Mumbai’s citizens travel on foot every day, while 30% use public transport and 20% travel by private vehicles. Yet private vehicles occupy nearly 82% of available road space while carrying only about 19% of commuters. "Footpaths are for citizens,” Gadepalli said, stressing that providing properly designed and maintained pedestrian infrastructure is a fundamental responsibility of the civic administration.
Additional Municipal Commissioner, Avinash Dhakane, said that civic officials face several practical and legal challenges while implementing the campaign. He stressed the need to create accessible and user-friendly footpaths, noting that people are more likely to walk when safe and convenient pedestrian infrastructure is available.
Former Chief Secretary Dr Nitin Kareer emphasised the need to ensure that all BMC officials and engineers understand the ‘Pedestrian First’ concept and its implementation. He said information about the campaign should reach every ward office and announced that an information booklet on the initiative would soon be prepared.
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