Transit Oriented Development (TOD) will open up four suburbs of Mumbai to commercial and residential development. Thereafter, your aspiration to walk to work may not be a far-fetched one after all.
Mumbaikars, aren't you tired of travelling to work in a train while hanging on for your dear life? Doesn't a morning stroll while grabbing your favourite chai on your way to work ten-minutes away from home sound blissful? Well, Mumbai city planners have a way out. The rising demand from millenials and generation Z has compelled the railways and the state government to come up with Transit Oriented Development (TOD), designed for you to get to work in ten minutes on foot. The zones locked for it include – New Panvel, Taloja, Pimplas and Bhiwandi Road. The Mumbai railways planning branch, Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC) has come up with a plan to create TOD zones along an already planned new railway line – the Panvel-Virar Corridor. The initial finding of a survey conducted by the World Bank as well as Rail India Technical and Economic Service (RITES) has yielded positive results and the plan has been presented to both, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA). MRVC chief managing director R S Khurana says, "The plans for TOD are at a nascent stage and we are in talks with the MMRDA officials in order to make this vision a reality. It will be a joint venture between the railways and MMRDA and the co-operation is key to decongesting cities like Mumbai."
TOD vision
TOD was introduced by the BMC when it was announced that the government will allow the construction of taller buildings near mass-transit-systems by providing an FSI of five. This will incentivise the project for developers, thus making them keen to build near these systems and at the same time, be beneficial to the Mumbaikar as the number of flats available in these areas will automatically increase;
TOD is characterised as a highdensity mixed-use development, thus providing housing, employment, recreation and social amenities close to transit stations;
It will include walkable neighbourhoods with a high density of streets and intersections (i.e. smaller size of urban blocks) providing route choices;
It will also allow accessible and comfortable mass transport system.
The big four:
When implemented, the TOD zones will be a joint project between the railways and MMRDA and the plan is being viewed by both as a way to decongest the city's overcrowded transport systems and the Panvel-Virar Corridor is probably the only completely new suburban railway line that is in the works.
1 New Panvel: Panvel is largely divided into old and new Panvel and has been included as it has the most to gain with upcoming infrastructural projects. A mix of rail, road and air infrastructure in the form of the Panvel-Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) elevated corridor, the Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link (MTHL) and the Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) respectively is expected to create new patterns of commuting.
2 Taloja: This suburb has emerged as one of the most trending micro-markets in what was a pre-dominantly industrial area off the Kharghar node.
The area emerged on the map after City Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) included it in alignment to the first phase of the Navi Mumbai Metro. The stations will be Belapur, Kharghar, MIDC Taloja and Pendhar.
3 Pimplas: A relatively lesser-known spot in the project is the area of Pimplas that will be located a little further ahead of Taloja station along the Panvel-Virar corridor. This area that falls under Thane district, is predominantly an industrial area with small clusters of office and residential projects. The hope is that once operational, this will become a key IT, BPO and KPO hub, similar to that of Airoli, Mhape and Ghansoli.
4 Bhiwandi Road: The area dominated by industries has a smattering of residential complexes. However, the state government has a plan up its sleeve with the Metro 5 line (Thane-Bhiwandi-Kalyan) making its way in the area. This project has been green-lighted with the intention to create more jobs near the already existing dense residential hubs of Thane and Kalyan.
TOD vision
TOD was introduced by the BMC when it was announced that the government will allow the construction of taller buildings near mass-transit-systems by providing an FSI of five. This will incentivise the project for developers, thus making them keen to build near these systems and at the same time, be beneficial to the Mumbaikar as the number of flats available in these areas will automatically increase;
TOD is characterised as a highdensity mixed-use development, thus providing housing, employment, recreation and social amenities close to transit stations;
It will include walkable neighbourhoods with a high density of streets and intersections (i.e. smaller size of urban blocks) providing route choices;
It will also allow accessible and comfortable mass transport system.
The big four:
When implemented, the TOD zones will be a joint project between the railways and MMRDA and the plan is being viewed by both as a way to decongest the city's overcrowded transport systems and the Panvel-Virar Corridor is probably the only completely new suburban railway line that is in the works.
1 New Panvel: Panvel is largely divided into old and new Panvel and has been included as it has the most to gain with upcoming infrastructural projects. A mix of rail, road and air infrastructure in the form of the Panvel-Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) elevated corridor, the Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link (MTHL) and the Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) respectively is expected to create new patterns of commuting.
2 Taloja: This suburb has emerged as one of the most trending micro-markets in what was a pre-dominantly industrial area off the Kharghar node.
The area emerged on the map after City Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) included it in alignment to the first phase of the Navi Mumbai Metro. The stations will be Belapur, Kharghar, MIDC Taloja and Pendhar.
3 Pimplas: A relatively lesser-known spot in the project is the area of Pimplas that will be located a little further ahead of Taloja station along the Panvel-Virar corridor. This area that falls under Thane district, is predominantly an industrial area with small clusters of office and residential projects. The hope is that once operational, this will become a key IT, BPO and KPO hub, similar to that of Airoli, Mhape and Ghansoli.
4 Bhiwandi Road: The area dominated by industries has a smattering of residential complexes. However, the state government has a plan up its sleeve with the Metro 5 line (Thane-Bhiwandi-Kalyan) making its way in the area. This project has been green-lighted with the intention to create more jobs near the already existing dense residential hubs of Thane and Kalyan.
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