Mumbai: No Sunday Drives This Weekend In Mumbai! As Police To Launch An Initiative Called Sunday Street! Mumbai police will be launching an intiative called sunday street to keep cars and two-wheelers off road and allow cycling, walks and skating activities in selected parts fo the city
For three hours this Sunday there will be No Drives, 13 stretches in Mumbai will remain shut to traffic and will be thrown open exclusively for citizens to indulge in activities that make them happy. The stretches can be used for walks, cycling, skating, yoga or by children as a sports zone.
The initiative, kick started by the Mumbai traffic police, is likely to be extended to other Sundays based on the response received from people. Residents’ groups have welcomed the idea as it triggers an alternative imagination of streets and is an attempt to curb pollution in the city and to make Mumbai go green.
Mumbai had experimented with the concept of open streets in the pre-Covid era. “During the pandemic, people stayed away from crowded spaces. Now that Covid infections have reduced and people are stepping out, the time is perfect to start an open streets initiative,” said a police officer.
The initiative will be one among many that the Mumbai police have started for citizens since commissioner sanjay pandey took charge. “We have identified 13 patches, including ones at Marine Drive, Bandra Bandstand, Oshiwara, Borivli and Mulund, among others, which will be kept shut for traffic from 8am to 11am on Sunday and dedicated for citizens. Diversions will be provided for motorists during this period,” said rajvardhan sinha, joint commissioner, traffic.
“We are living in cubicles —moving from our apartment to a car, then into an office elevator, an office desk and getting back home the same way —rarely stepping out into an open space. Any project which promotes physical activities and aims at reducing pollution should be encouraged,” said Sanjay Gaonkar, member of a Mulund residents’ group. The traffic police may add more locations to the project in future.
For two years, a similar initiative was started on the Lokhandwala Back Road in Andheri. “There were food stalls, activity stalls, game zones, street performances, even tree climbing sessions on the third Sunday of every month,” said Karan Jotwani of the Lokhandwala-Oshiwara Citizens’ Association.
“Lokhandwala is packed with cars with almost every family owning multiple vehicles. This was the only space where people could express themselves and step out with children. The response was terrific,” he added.
Activist Indrani Malkani from a Malabar Hill ALM, though, cautions the 13 locations should be free of potholes or road works for the initiative to work. “The approach road should be safe for people accessing the location and there should be arrangements made for those travelling from other neighbourhoods,” she said.
Pandey announced the development through social media on March 25. Here’s the tweet.
https://twitter.com/sanjayp_1/status/1507065898490015747
While replying to the people’s comments on social media, Pandey said, “Sunday Streets is to make streets available to citizens with no moving traffic and Drives. You can come with families. Play games. Play music. Ride bikes. Do yoga. With streets being totally free. From our side we are going to display our percussion band. Citizens are welcome to have their own.” This Sunday only six locations have been chosen and Pandey said they will try to add more locations every Sunday.
