Good News: Mumbai Metro (MMRDA) supports our petition for Road Safety

Thank you, Metro-PIU for signing our petition and supporting us in our cause of making roads safer for our senior citizens and young kids. For all our supporters, we present below the communication received from MMRDA ___________________________________________________________________ metropiu MMRDA India REASON FOR SIGNING Dear Ms. Swapna Sankhe, This has reference to your post dated 04/02/2017 on website “Change.org”. We are extremely thankful to you for sparing time on a Sunday morning i.e. 05/02/2017 and interacting with metro officials and traffic police officials regarding traffic movement at road junction in front of Inorbit Mall and resolving your queries and apprehensions. Further, your co-operation and our immediate response at site left both the parties satisfied. Thanks again for your appreciation. Regarding your post; para-wise replies are as under:- 1) It is requested for one more site visit and indicate the locations where requirement of temporary divider is felt. However, it is for your kind information that during metro construction all openings in median/divider are kept un-barricaded to facilitate people crossing from one side to other side. No existing opening has been closed till now for metro construction. 2) The issue of low height barricades was discussed during above site interaction and we understand you remain quite satisfied with the present arrangement of barricading boards after slight realignment. 3) The width of 9.0 m. barricade is enough for pedestrians to stand and wait before crossing. If there is any specific requirement, it can be viewed at every such location. 4) The cranes always work in the barricaded area and whenever a vehicle/crane moves out of the barricaded area, it is being guided by traffic marshals so as to ensure complete public safety. 5) The work of metro construction is done in a series of steps like barricading, utility identification, soil investigation, designing of foundation and then execution. This involves digging of various types and sizes at various steps. 6) It is to re-assure you that all safety measures like barricade boards, flashers, traffic cones, traffic marshals etc. are in place to ensure complete public safety. However, if there is any specific suggestion for specific locations, you are always welcome. From, Metro-PIU/MMRDA ___________________________________________________________________ Our reply: Respected Sir, thank you for your support once again. With reference to the Inorbit Mall, Malad junction, I have pictures for every concern that I have brought to your notice and can email them to you if provided with the email id. We will be more than willing to make as many site visits as required to make the roads safer. I have replied to all your points, respectively as below: 1. Regarding Goregaon-Malad Link road, the contractors had enclosed all the dividers, leaving no space for pedestrians to cross. Furthermore, the dividers have been broken down. I have pictures for Inorbit Mall junction regarding the same. Only on Sunday evening the barricades at the said junction were pushed back, making space for pedestrians. Still there are no dividers or medians here. 2. While we understand that the height of barricades is for public and property safety, the barricades are still covering the traffic signal. During crossing the roads, the pedestrian loses sight of traffic signal and cannot see when the “light” changes. We request you to personally come and check it yourself. 3. With due respect sir, I have a picture of the crane parked in the middle of the road without any barricades around it. And I was at the site when the work was happening. I agree that there were traffic police and marshals but insist that you strictly consider the safety regulations at the site. 4. Thank you for the explanation. We understand it now and are only concerned about the safety issues which you have assured us will be taken care of. 5. While we have been promised traffic marshals, we have yet to see them. There were no traffic cones or flashers while the work was happening at the site. Making roads safer is a collective effort of citizens and civic authorities and we are satisfied that you have responded and are taking steps towards making roads safer.