Multimodal Integration and Strategic Planning for the Proposed Dahisar Metro Station

In India, large number of commuters travel by means of buses, auto rickshaws, taxis and personal vehicles. Commuters face many problems such as lack of parking space for vehicles, increase in traffic congestion, dynamics in fuel price, and shortages of right of way complicated by unauthorised parking. With the introduction of metro, the scenario is supposed to change for metro cities to some extent. However, in order to increase the modal shift from private to public transport, it is essential to provide easy intermodal interchanges for which adequate planning of multimodal integration is essential. This paper aims at planning for improvement of the traffic flow under and around the proposed metro station by planning for appropriate lane widening based on the traffic forecasts for the horizon time period that the metro will be operational. The movement of pedestrians is improved by providing the station area with adequate pedestrian infrastructures like footpaths, walkover bridges, railings and pedestrian crossings. This will help to resolve the bottlenecking and traffic congestions and will ultimately result in reduction of road accidents. This study considers various alternatives and on the basis of opportunities and constraints, selection of best alternative. In order to increase the ridership for the proposed metro station, well defined and legible feeder routes have been designed, which will make the unconnected region within the catchment area accessible to the commuters. Special consideration for physically disabled commuters have been made in the form of ramps, continuous and widened footpath.