Mumbai’s first-of-its-kind ‘model road’ to be in SoBo

Bellasis Road at Nagpada will have pedestrian crossings at every 75m and signboards.

Starting this October, the construction of the city’s model road will begin in Nagpada. Lamington Road-Bellasis Road in Nagpada, the 823-metre stretch, will be converted into a model road with pedestrian-friendly footpaths, area for shoppers and parking spaces.

The construction of the road will begin in October.(HT Photo/Representational Image)

The BMC appointed the World Resources Institute (WRI), India, to conduct road safety inspection, earlier this year, and submit a report with design recommendations for the stretch, starting from the Nagpada junction. The design for the 823m stretch is one of the projects under Bloomberg initiative for global road safety at a cost of ₹30 crore. After Samajwadi party group leader Rais Shaikh proposed the revamp of the road, BMC had appointed WRI for the study.

The WRI recommendations include pedestrian crossings at every 75 metres, planned footpaths, footpath extension or bulb-outs and sign boards. The Bellasis Road is one of the most congested roads with shops and commercial structures on both sides. Curb extensions (also called bulb-outs) extend the sidewalk into the parking lane to narrow the roadway and provide additional pedestrian space at key locations.

It helps enhance pedestrian safety by increasing pedestrian visibility and shortening crossing distances.

The design includes a 3.50 metre wide footpath, 2.50 metre wide bulb-out and a 7.50 metre wide travel lane.

“The 823metre stretch is heavily commercial with shoppers, but it had zero pedestrian facility. In the design we have suggested increasing pedestrian facility like crossing, for better traffic management,” said Dhawal Ashar, manager, integrated transport World Resource Institute, India.