Revamp of Mumbai’s footpath on cards: 14 high-footfall locations chosen for pilot plan

Data procured by The Indian Express show that of the 14 locations earmarked for the remodel plans, 6.40 km, or four locations, are in the island city division, followed by 5.96 km of footpaths encompassing five areas in the eastern suburbs, and 4.19 km of footpaths spanning five locations in the western suburbs.

The footpath will be upgraded as “models” accessible to all and encroachment-free, Abhijit Bangar, Additional Municipal Commissioner (Projects) told The Indian Express.

“Some of the components of the upgradation will be the use of tactile paths to make them disabled-person-friendly, ensuring that the surroundings of the trees are kept safe. In some locations, we will also provide benches,” added Bangar.

According to officials, the existing footpaths will be upgraded in accordance with the Universal Footpath Policy. The policy enlists an array of guidelines, including the physical aspects of a walkway, such as an even surface, sufficient width, removal of obstructions, encroachments, etc.

In its norms, the policy also states that a “pedestrian zone” should have a minimum horizontal width of 1.50 metre and a vertical clear space of 2.20 metre for the safe passage of walkers, with guidelines permitting a reduction in width to 1.2 metre only in cases of bottlenecks or the presence of trees or walls.

Earlier this week, the civic body procured the final sanctions for the pilot project. “We will be developing these stretches as models which can be replicated in other areas,” added Bangar.

According to officials, the plan was devised under its “Pedestrian First” plan announced in the fiscal budget this year, for which the BMC had allocated Rs 100 crore.

Bangar said, “Next year, we may increase the allocation for the pedestrian policy plan as well as take up some more areas.”

Earlier this year, the Bombay High Court had cracked the whip on public authorities for the problems posed by unlawful parking and for encroachments on footpaths.

This is not the municipal authority’s first experiment in making the city pedestrian-friendly.

The BMC first floated its pedestrian-first policy in 2016 calling for removing encroachments and laying down rules for design, furniture zones, kerbs, and overhanging obstructions.

Following this, the BMC, in a circular issued in 2017, directed assistant commissioners to identify paths along major arterial roads and repair them in accordance with the footpath policy. Meanwhile, the civic body has also taken up small pilot projects in high-footfall areas.

Yet, lack of adequate and open footpaths has emerged as one of the biggest grouses for citizens.

Why walkability remains a challenge

At least 51 per cent of people resort to walking in Mumbai, as per a report published by the Walking Project, a city-based organisation which maps Mumbai’s streets.

According to senior officials at BMC, Mumbai has roughly 4,000 km of footpaths.

In its Comprehensive Mobility Plan (CMP) for Greater Mumbai report published in 2016, BMC found that “permanent and semi-permanent structures located along edges of the right of way of streets; haphazard parking of vehicles in the absence of footpath; lack of designated hawking area, especially around stations” were among the key conditions that demotivate pedestrians from using footpaths.
The report also found that most footpaths were inaccessible to people with special needs.

Vedant Mhatre, who works with Walking Project, said, “In our surveys, we have found that in most locations, the footpaths are not wide enough. Two other major problems are posed by unauthorised parking as well as the presence of hawkers.”

Another problem, senior civic officials pointed out, is posed by societal opposition.

“Near society gates, a footpath is supposed to come at grade level and taper down. However, in some locations, we see that society’s entry gates go over the footpath and land on the road. When we try to flag this, we face opposition from societies,” an official said.

On improving walking infrastructure

According to policymakers and experts, ensuring walkability comprises two major components: removing obstructions on footpaths, and constructing footpaths that comply with the specifications set by the Indian Road Congress (IRC).

A roadmap to ensure the feasibility of walking across the country, the IRC includes specifications such as a maximum height of 6 inches for footpaths, widths, tactile paths to make them friendly to people with special needs, bollards at junctions to prevent two-wheelers from driving on footpaths, among others.

Pankaj Joshi, principal director of Urban Centre Mumbai, said, “While the framework laid down in the IRC is a mandatory provision that needs to be followed, we must also have a standard manual which has pedestrian engineering details for the footpaths across the city.”

Having executed about a dozen pilot footpath improvement projects across the city, including near Ruia College and NGMA, among others, Joshi said, “If done right, it is not only practical but can also last decades. For instance, in New York, most footpaths are at least 80 years old. Now that the city has a new metro line, making pedestrian-friendly infrastructure will further facilitate last-mile connectivity.”

Meanwhile, civic brass said the project will have to be implemented over a long period to overhaul Mumbai’s pedestrian infrastructure.

“We have more than 4,000 km of footpaths. At such a huge scale, the project must be implemented continuously for 10-15 years to see a real difference,” Bangar said.

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