July 9, 2025: A proposal by the Breach Candy Residents Forum (BCRF) to create designated overground parking zones in Breach Candy and Bhulabhai Desai Road has hit a roadblock, as the designated area remains under the jurisdiction of the Coastal Road department and has not yet been handed over to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) D Ward office.
While the local BMC ward office and its Roads and Traffic Department are typically responsible for implementing such parking projects, the delay in land transfer from the Coastal Road department has halted progress.
The BMC had initially asked the BCRF to submit a fresh proposal after plans for an underground parking facility behind Tata Garden near Amarsons junction were scrapped last year. That two-storeyed project was abandoned following strong objections from local residents who feared it would worsen traffic congestion.
Following the new submission, Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Anil Kumbhare had ordered site inspections to study the feasibility of the proposed overground lots. Residents also held joint meetings with Kumbhare and D Ward traffic officials to seek support for the plan.
The proposal submitted by BCRF is divided into ‘Residents Pay & Park’ and ‘Visitors Pay & Park’ zones. The residents’ zones are proposed at five locations—behind the Indian Oil Petrol Pump, L&T site office, in front of Signature Garden, Mona Apartment Lane, and Akruti Pay & Park—with space for up to 195 cars.
Visitor parking is planned across eight locations: Setalvad Lane, Amarsons Garden Lane, Mazda and Dil Pazir, Sehar Agiary Lane, BCH Parking, Navroze, Akruti, and the Haji Ali underground parking facility, with total capacity for 672 vehicles.
Until the Coastal Road department hands over the area, the project’s future remains uncertain.
Source: The Free Press Journal
