Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) recently invited tenders for constructing a four-level underground parking lot at Hutatma Chowk in Fort.
The site for the proposed automated mechanised parking lot is an existing on-street parking spot. It is located towards the southern side of Flora Fountain near the Bombay high court. The site has a 12-metre access road on the western side and 7-metre access road on the eastern side.
The area is well planned and spacious with many historical buildings surrounding the 14,285 square feet plot opposite Apsara Pen Centre. The site is also a part of the heritage precinct.
A civic official from the traffic department said, “The triangular island at the chowk has an on-street parking, which is insufficient. The proposed parking lot will increase the capacity of the existing spot by four times by accommodating 176 cars. An approval will be sought from the Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee (MHCC) by the special cell. Since Metro work is on, we have to seek permission on how many levels we can go below.”
The quantum of people visiting the area has been growing over the years and the current land, which belongs to the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), is the only parking lot in the area.
Citing an increasing demand for vehicular parking in this office and business hub, the feasibility report submitted by Structwel, a consultant, stressed the need for the proposed parking lot.
“The non-availability of parking space impacts internal road traffic and pedestrian movement. It also creates inconvenience to residents or commercial spaces around the area. Office goers also lose time searching for parking space. This mechanised underground multi-level parking will ensure safety and security of the parked vehicles due to advanced surveillance system and theft of vehicles will also be avoided,” the report stated.
“The fully automated car parking will help generate revenue in the prime area. Since it is a basement parking there will be no conflict with movement on the over ground area. The built form will have less volume and it will not be a visual barrier. There will be a scope to expand vertically, above ground if needed,” the proposal added.
Mentioning the challenges in the project, the proposal stated that the proposed site has a rock strata of about 5-metre as per the data from the ongoing Metro work.
“It is difficult to estimate the maximum excavation depth without geographical intervention. An additional rock cutting at 4.5 metre is being considered to build the parking. Also, being in the heritage precinct, an NOC from the MHCC is mandatory for the above ground car entry/exit structure. Also, adding one more floor above the ground with a heritage appearance to blend with the surrounding environment is also suggested. Thus, it may be feasible to get four level parking or reduce one underground level to optimise rock cutting,” the proposal stated.