Traffic, unruly auto drivers, bad last-mile connectivity plague Malad

MUMBAI: In the 19th century, Malad was a green, peaceful cluster of villages, with its main village Orlem or Valnai home to a mere 12 families. Today, the population of the suburb, spread over an area of about 22.19 square km, has grown to a monstrous one million, with a floating population of over a lakh. This works out to a population density of approximately 45,000 people per square kilometre, quite apart from the thousands of cars, bikes, buses, auto-rickshaws and other vehicles that clog the suburb’s roads.
To handle this enormous population density, Malad (West) has just two primary roads—S V Road and Link Road—which connect it to the nearby suburbs like Andheri, Jogeshwari and Kandivali. Another road, Vasari Hill Road, connects Malad (West) to the Western Express Highway (WEH). The road network across Malad (East) is virtually non-existent, a cluster of narrow bylanes zig-zagging through the area’s slums.
Until the 2000s, Malad was home mainly to working-class people who sought affordable housing. The change began when a prominent real estate developer acquired 125 acres of space in the suburb and built a humongous office complex called ‘Mindspace’. The latter became one of the most sought-after suburban addresses for corporate houses, call centres and IT BPOs, with companies like Morgan Stanley, Otis, Apar Technologies and 3G opting to buy office space in it.
Mindspace also kicked off a residential boom, which was followed by one of Mumbai’s biggest malls, Inorbit, and consumer product outlets like D Mart and Hypercity setting up shop there. That was just the beginning. Today, in addition to Mindspace, three malls and innumerable restaurants have popped up adjacent to Link Road between Bangur Nagar in Goregaon (West) and Mith Chowky in Malad (West).
Despite earning the tag of a bustling business district, the traffic jams, an insufficient public transport system and infrastructure and poor last-mile connectivity has rendered working in Malad an unpleasant experience. “It takes me only 20 mins from Dahisar to Malad by train but thanks to the traffic at S V Road, Chincholi Bunder and Link Road, I reach office late by at least 20 minutes on most days, “ said Flynn Rodriges (30), who works with a BPO in Mindspace.
When it comes to traffic crunches, Mith Chowky is the most infamous. Most vehicles travelling on Link Road remain stuck at this point in a jam that can extend to 30 to 45 minutes. “It takes me more than an hour on some days from Kandivali East to Malad West,” said Rohan Parulekar (24), who travels to Malad for his MBA classes. “The congestion in Malad is mainly due to dug-up roads and unruly auto drivers who are not stopped or fined by the traffic police. Even if I take the metro, it will take me an hour, as the metro takes a longer route.”
Residents of Malad too remark on the huge change in the suburb’s landscape in the last two decades. “This has happened around 2005,” said an aspiring actor, who lived at Evershine Nagar in Malad (West) till recently. “In 2005, to even travel to Inorbit Mall was a problem, as auto-rickshaw drivers would refuse to ply because of the traffic jams in the place. My friends and I used to walk down to Inorbit those days. To find an auto-rickshaw to ply to Malad railway station was equally a nightmare, and there have been times when I was forced to take overcrowded BEST buses just to make it to the station.” The actor has now moved to Andheri (West).
The increased frequency of suburban trains and Metro lines 2A and 7, which connect Dahisar to Andheri through Link Road and WEH, have eased long-distance travel but the terrible condition of footpaths and walkways make last-mile connectivity an unpleasant experience. Footpaths from the metro station to Mindspace are full obstructions like parked vehicles, bus stops, stalls and hawkers, forcing office-goers to walk on the roads. The traffic police have finally taken note of complaints from residents and deployed a constable in the area to take regular action against illegal parking, especially on footpaths. “We have also barricaded a part of the road to stop vehicles’ access to footpaths,” said a police officer.
Vedant Mhatre, project manager of The Walking Project, said that with the recent introduction of the metro, Malad had a good opportunity to leverage the existing IT park and grow into a full-fledged Central Business District. “But last-mile connectivity will be key in this regard,” he said. “Most of the business belts are close to Metro 2 but there is heavy traffic along the New Link Road. It is imperative to prioritise last-mile public transport and walking. Wide and good-quality footpaths with modern design standards branching out from the stations can make this last-mile experience quicker and more efficient.”
To solve Malad’s traffic woes, the BMC has proposed an 800-metre-long T-shaped flyover, with its eastern arm originating from Girdhar Park Bridge at Mith Chowky. The flyover will pass above Malad Creek and extend above the traffic junction. Its westward landing will be near St Joseph’s School, from where vehicles can move further towards Malad station and WEH. Another arm will extend southwards from the flyover’s main carriageway. The southbound arm will descend onto Link Road, from where motorists can travel towards Mindspace and Andheri.