The Nepean Sea Road Neighbourhood

To:  Mr. S. Chore, Asst. Municipal Commissioner, D Ward, MCGM Building, Nana Chowk, Mumbai 400 026

April 13, 2009

Mr. S. Chore,
Asst. Municipal Commissioner, D Ward,
MCGM Building,
Nana Chowk, Mumbai 400026


Dear Mr. Chore,

Sub: Citizens’ Proposal for Nepean Sea Road Improvement

As already communicated, we are in favour of the widening of Nepean Sea
Road from St. Stephens Church to Embassy Apartments. We are
disappointed, however, that several reasoned options prepared by
architect Rahul Kadri, which would achieve the objectives of smooth
traffic flow, while retaining the heritage and verdant character of
the neighbourhood, have been summarily rejected. Consequently the
quality of our precinct has been severely damaged and we are
determined to work together to restore the neighbourhood.

Neither the office bearers of the Nepean Sea Road Citizens Forum nor
the MCGM represent our point of view; and as a concerned collective of
citizens we therefore wish to place on record the following:

-- The MCGM plan and the Citizens’ Proposal both include a 6 lane, 90
foot wide road.

-- Both plans can only accommodate 4 continuous lanes of moving
traffic, because permanent bus stops, taxi stands and people alighting
from vehicles are going to be imperative ‘obstructions’ in lane 1 and
6.

-- The MCGM plan reveals no provision for parking, while the Citizen’s
Proposal provides for limited legalized parking in lane 1 and 6

-- The Citizens Proposal uses lanes 1 and 6 to accommodate trees
without obstructing moving traffic. The MCGM has already removed 116
trees and is poised to remove another 10-15 trees, including several
falling on pavements.

-- The Citizen’s Proposal involves smooth traffic flow in four lanes
throughout, while the MCGM plan involves ballooning widths of
six-lane-four-lane mixes, which may cause more accidents and
congestion.

-- The Citizens’ Proposal positions utility cables and pipes away from
moving traffic. The MCGM plan will cause traffic disruption during
future repair work.

-- The Citizens’ Proposal also asks for adequate pedestrian crossings,
traffic signals and speed limits in keeping with residential
neighborhood requirements.

-- The Citizens’ Proposal demands a publicly available quantitative
study on Nepean Sea Road/ Malabar Hill residential traffic justifying
a highway-style road through this short segment, when all connecting
roads have only 4 lanes of moving traffic. The MCGM has made no such
study available.

The destruction of a neighbourhood thanks to a haphazard partially
six-lane highway-style road through this small stretch has already
begun. This will neither achieve the objectives of smooth traffic
flow, nor retain the residential character of our locality. We ask
that you address this issue immediately.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

The The Nepean Sea Road Neighbourhood Petition to Mr. S. Chore, Asst. Municipal Commissioner, D Ward, MCGM Building, Nana Chowk, Mumbai 400 026 was created by and written by Chaitan Dalal (nepeansearoad@gmail.com).  This petition is hosted here at www.PetitionOnline.com as a public service. There is no endorsement of this petition, express or implied, by Artifice, Inc. or our sponsors. For technical support please use our simple Petition Help form.