Mumbai Coastal Road: Work on parks and promenade to start in November

MUMBAI: Work on creating parks and a promenade along the Mumbai Coastal Road (MCR), as envisioned in the master plan prepared by infrastructure firm AECOM, will commence in November this year. The move will add nearly 70 hectares of open space divided into three separate zones and including nine parks stretching from Priyadarshini Park to Worli.
Around 70% of the open space will have green cover, while the remaining 30% area will be paved with walkways, cycle tracks and a 7.5-km promenade, said sources in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). The facilities will be accessible via nine main entry points, including at Setalvad Lane, Tata Garden, Mahalaxmi, Lotus Jetty, Haji Ali juice center, Atria Mall and Madraswadi in Worli.
The parks will remain open from 8am to 8pm, while the promenade will remain open round-the-clock, allowing people to walk, cycle, or relax by the shore at night.
“The parks will offer a range of activities for all age groups, including cycling tracks, skating areas, yoga spaces, tennis and badminton courts, and large open fields for football. They will also include facilities for senior citizens and children to ensure multi-generational appeal,” said a BMC official.
The promenade will also feature 20 underpasses, spaced every 400 metres, to ensure easy access from one side to the other.
“The Worli end of the promenade will have steps to allow visitors to experience the sea more closely. It will offer a unique opportunity for residents to engage with the sea, owing to the consistently low tides in that area,” said the BMC official.
Genesis of project
The idea of transforming the city’s western shoreline first originated in 2011, when a joint technical committee led by former municipal commissioner Subodh Kumar was constituted to study the prospect of developing a freeway or link road along the coast. The committee submitted its report in December 2011, suggesting land reclamation as a cost-effective solution, with the potential to create much-needed open spaces for the city.
One arm of arch bridge likely to open on Sep 12
The BMC is likely to partially open one arm of the coastal road arch bridge, which connects it with the Bandra-Worli Sea Link, on September 12. Only the bridge’s south–bound carriageway will be opened to traffic initially and will accommodate traffic only in one direction – likely northbound traffic heading from Marine Drive towards Bandra. The entry point for south-bound vehicles will continue to be at Worli. The move is expected to provide some relief to traffic congestion in the area.