Hi-tech ways for coastal road in Mumbai: Wi-Fi on stretch, sensor cams to curb speeding

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to provide Wi-Fi connectivity for motorists and visitors at the proposed open spaces on its ambitious coastal road project connecting the island city to the western suburbs.

The BMC also plans to put in place an intelligence traffic monitoring system to curb speeding vehicles, as a part of which cameras with speed sensors will be installed every 250 metres along the coastal road.

The civic body is expected to float bids in the coming days for both these initiatives.

“We have planned to install Wi-Fi network on the whole stretch along with the tunnel section of the coastal road where motorists can enjoy uninterrupted internet access. The Wi-Fi access will also be for visitors who visit the parks and other facilities proposed along the coastal road,” a BMC official said.

BMC officials said the usage of Wi-Fi facility will be free. The decision to provide Wi-Fi facility has been taken as every big mega infrastructure project globally and in India is proposing such a facility, they said. It is also helpful from a security point of view, they said. In addition to Wi-Fi, the BMC also plans to have an intelligent traffic monitoring system. As part of this, closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras with speed sensors will be installed at every 250 metres. This will keep a check on speeding vehicles on the lines of the Bandra Worli Sea-Link. The speed limit on the coastal road will be around 80-kmph on straight road and around 50-kmph on curves. The idea of speed sensor cameras was recently discussed in a joint meeting between BMC and Mumbai Traffic Police officials.

A BMC official added, “It was in the joint meeting with Mumbai Traffic Police recently that this idea was suggested. This also ensures that there is psychological fear in the mind of motorists to not overspeed. It’s also because options like speed-breakers cannot be explored as it results in abrupt braking of motorists, leading to accidents at times.”

The BMC is expected to float bids in the coming days for both Wi-Fi facility installations along with features of the intelligent traffic monitoring system. Apart from cameras with speed censors, the intelligence traffic monitoring system will also include digital hoardings that will give traffic and weather updates to motorists, as well as installation of noise barriers along the under-construction road.