Abstract
Mumbai is India’s financial capital and is amongst the fastest growing metropolises in India. The city has developed around the suburban railway and enjoys enviable public transport mode shares; however, commuters suffer from extreme overcrowding. The biggest loser in the challenge of accommodating the city’s population in a limited geographical area are open spaces; the city currently offers only 1.24 sqm per person. To improve the travel conditions for commuters and address growing vehicular traffic congestion, the city has taken up the implementation of the Metro Rail consisting of 12 lines. Recognising that metro patronage is linked to the quality of access and streets form an integral part of the public realm; the government is looking for innovative designs that enhance public transit integration, provide sustainable transportation alternatives and augment the city’s open space network. The two project cases presented in this paper demonstrate innovative Urban Design and Transportation Planning designs at different scales have been employed in the city to meet the above vision. 1: Metro Line 3 Station The 33.5 km, fully underground Line 3 is one of the metro lines currently under development. The Cuffe Parade station is located under a linear park; it is planned over three levels: Mezzanine, Concourse and Platform. The mezzanine has a ‘park and ride’ facility and space for retail. Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation appointed us with an objective to integrate the mezzanine level with the public realm and create a viable retail space. At the mezzanine, a sunken plaza was created by reducing the area for parking by employing a stacked mechanical parking system which reduced the parking space and ramps area by over 60%. Access to the sunken plaza from the at-grade park is via amphitheatre-like steps. The steps leading to the plaza are the primary entrance to the station, provides continuity to the public realm and also serves as a spill out space for the retail enhancing its viability. Further this design intervention created the possibility of creating an underground dedicated access connection to the World Trade Centre, a major commercial development in the vicinity. This will serve as a fillip to metro ridership and improve station access. 2: SBM Streetscape Senapati Bapat Marg (SBM) is an arterial street that serves the Lower Parel business district. The street experiences high volumes of vehicular traffic and also connects with two important railway stations. Currently only 5% of the overall right of way (ROW) is reserved for non-motorised transport resulting in them spilling onto the vehicular ROW. We were appointed by a PPP between the municipal corporation and the property owner (Nucleus Office Parks) to redress this imbalance by creating designs for 1.8km of SBM as an equitable street. Our design converts inefficient shoulder space used for parking into a public realm. As per a detailed traffic simulation exercise we determined the space requirements for all transport modes. In conformity with the data and model a continuous footpath of 2.5m width, cycle track of 1.8m width and street furniture that is tied together by landscape has been provided. Bus stops and cycle stands have been located to facilitate public transport commuters and at places where additional width is available trees have been planted around which benches are placed. At the centre of the road is a flyover whose under space is unutilised. This space has been connected to the public realm through pedestrian friendly crossings and converted into a park and study centre. Both these projects are being implemented and we are hopeful that they will set a template for how streets and stations should be designed.
