Citizens fear revised Metro alignment will spark snarls

  • | Saturday | 14th July, 2018

Pimpri Chinchwad: The Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation (MahaMetro) has changed the alignment of the project from the median of the BRTS corridor to the service lane. “Rickshaws stop haphazardly at the PCMC bus stop. “The Metro pillars will now be built on the service road along the BRTS lane from Kharalwadi to the Empire Estate flyover in Chinchwad. This meant citizens park their vehicles on the highway,” Bhojane said, explaining the need for such a facility. But this move has sparked concerns that traffic congestion will worsen on the service road.

Pimpri Chinchwad: The Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation (MahaMetro) has changed the alignment of the project from the median of the BRTS corridor to the service lane. But this move has sparked concerns that traffic congestion will worsen on the service road. The alignment pertains to a 2km stretch of the Pimpri-Swargate corridor.“We had noticed that the MahaMetro had dug pits to lay the foundation for two pillars in the dedicated bus lane in Kharalwadi, ahead of Babasaheb Ambedkar chowk,” said Vijay Bhojane, the head of the BRTS cell. “So, we told them to stop. The PCMC wants to start the BRTS bus service on the highway and we do not want MahaMetro to disturb the dedicated bus lanes,” Bhojane added, explaining the change in alignment.Gautam Birhade, chief project manager of the Range Hills-Pimpri Metro section, said the pits will be filled and the foundation work already done will be removed. “The Metro pillars will now be built on the service road along the BRTS lane from Kharalwadi to the Empire Estate flyover in Chinchwad. The barricades will leave only one lane open to traffic in Kharalwadi, so we have concretized the footpath to facilitate vehicular movement,” he said.However, citizens are far from convinced. “Rickshaws stop haphazardly at the PCMC bus stop. Two-three buses also stop there, causing daily congestion during the peak hours. This will only worsen if one lane is used for Metro pillar construction,” felt Suman Jadhav, another Pimpri resident.“There will be only one pillar parallel to the traffic island on (Babasaheb Ambedkar and Finolex) chowks, so vehicular movement will not be affected,” Birhade said.Underground parking planPCMC has asked MahaMetro to consider creating an underground parking facility at its Pimpri headquarters.“MahaMetro will check the structural stability of the building and submit a report,” Bhojane said. “Much of the open space in front of PCMC was used to widen the highway. This meant citizens park their vehicles on the highway,” Bhojane said, explaining the need for such a facility.

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