Mumbai: The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) recently began dismantling the 13-kilometre-long cycling track in Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) to make way for an additional motor vehicle lane, aiming to ease traffic congestion in the business district’s busiest area, the G-block.
The move follows a traffic management plan approved in April by the Mumbai traffic police. Meanwhile, a meeting convened in July between officials from the MMRDA, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), metro rail, traffic police, private and public bus operators, representatives of office complexes and fuel station owners focused on addressing persistent traffic snarls in the zone. Under the plan, two new lanes will be added to the existing four-lane main road in G-block, potentially accommodating up to 900 extra vehicles per lane.
Details On Demolition Project
The cycling track, built in 2011 at a cost of Rs 60 crore to encourage sustainable transport, will now be demolished and converted into a road lane. Officials said the track was rarely used for cycling and had instead become a parking space for two- and four-wheelers. The demolition and road conversion project is expected to cost around Rs 25 crore.
Besides expanding the road, the MMRDA and traffic police are working on a series of complementary measures, relocating civic utilities, shifting traffic signals and signages, redesignating no-parking and no-halting zones and converting certain internal roads into one-way routes to improve traffic flow.
MMRDA commissioner Sanjay Mukherjee confirmed that the changes include exploring restrictions on autorickshaw parking at critical choke points and enforcing one-way traffic on multiple stretches during peak hours. “We have suggested converting multiple roads into one-ways, at least during peak hours, to streamline traffic flow,” he said, as quoted by Hindustan Times.
Officials estimate that the changes could cut peak-hour commute times within G-block by around 40 per cent, reducing the average travel time from 25 minutes to 15 minutes. Waiting time at traffic signals is also expected to drop by nearly 30 per cent, from 10 minutes to about seven minutes.
Massive Footfall Recorded In BKC Area Daily
BKC sees an average daily footfall of 600,000 people, including 200,000 office-goers and 400,000 visitors. The most congested points in the district include the family court junction, areas outside the National Stock Exchange, Jio World Garden, Bharat Diamond Bourse and the arterial BKC Road.
The demolition work is already underway, with authorities prioritising completion before the onset of major festival-season traffic. Once the project is complete, the G-block is expected to see smoother vehicular movement, though the loss of the cycling track has drawn criticism from advocates of sustainable transport.
