Kamath says removing cycle track won't end BKC traffic woes, pedals for holistic solutions

Mumbai, Sep 18 (PTI) Banking industry veteran K V Kamath on Thursday said removing the cycle track in Mumbai's BKC will not end the traffic woes in the financial capital's central business district.

Kamath, the non-executive chairman of Jio Financial Services, which has an office in the relatively new business area, noted that a "holistic" approach, starting with understanding the circulation of traffic and removing bottlenecks, will help in easing the movement of vehicles.

It can be noted that the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) area often experiences snarls and people complain of long times taken to cover short distances in cars. The area, which got developed in the 21st century, also lacks mass transit options despite being home to storeyed Indian corporates' offices.

"There is a cycling track, they are now removing the cycling track. It's not going to help, you need to address the basic circulation. As simple as that," Kamath said during an event on infrastructure finance organized by NaBFID, a financial institution, at the Jio World Convention Center in BKC.

He was answering a question where a mention was made about a 5-km journey taking 1 hour 47 minutes in a car.

As per media reports, state-run planning authority MMRDA has a plan to dismantle the 13-km-long cycle track in BKC to address the traffic woes.

Stating that he is an optimist, the veteran banker expressed the hope that the elevated rail and metro corridor will ease off the situation.

Terming the current difficulties as a "space planning and execution challenge", Kamath pointed out that BKC is a "constrained space" with bottlenecks from both the Kurla and Bandra side as one comes in.

"I think somebody has to sit down and (assess) circulation of traffic, evacuation of traffic, entry of traffic. Plan it very thoroughly and put it in at once. What is happening here is that bits and pieces are coming at various times and causing more problems," he opined.

Within the suburban business district, Kamath emphasised there is only one particular bottleneck near the BKC-side entry-exit of the BKC connector where motorists face trouble.

The connector bridge, which only allows cars and excludes two-wheeler and three-wheelers, is getting a lot of traffic lately because of the razing down of a British-era bridge near Elphinstone Road in central Mumbai and closure of a Railway overbridge in Sion, he said.

"The BKC connector has become a general purpose bridge. It is no longer a BKC connector," Kamath remarked.

Recalling his stint in China, the celebrated banker maintained that a city there had a 16-lane road in 2004 and the traffic is neatly managed with mass transit options for everybody. PTI AA RSY