From calm to congested: Pune's neighbourhoods grapple with commercial spillover

Time of India

2 days ago

Pune: People across the city have supported Kalyaninagar residents' claim that pubs and restaurants are creating traffic problems, though it was recently dismissed by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.
Experts point out that most residential houses are designed to accommodate a maximum of two vehicles per unit. However, with these units being converted into commercial spaces, the traffic load increases as both workers and clients bring their vehicles, and the existing roads are not built to handle this rise.
TOI spoke to people from Balewadi, NIBM road, Deccan Gymkhana, and Baner to understand how the quiet residential zones have turned into a traffic nightmare.
Not just for vehicles, these areas are becoming increasingly difficult to navigate on foot for senior citizens and children.
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Ramchandra Gohad, the city's first town planner who was in charge of the 1987 development plan, explained that town planning rules (UDCPR) designate certain areas as purely residential (R1), where only limited commercial activities are allowed, and that wider roads can accommodate more commercial use.
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"However, these rules are often not strictly enforced, leading to problems like inadequate parking and increased traffic when bungalows are converted into restaurants and other commercial spaces. In newly planned areas, commercial activity is strictly limited to certain corners or not allowed at all in purely residential sectors. But in practice, rules are not strictly followed, leading to problems like double parking, increased traffic, and inconvenience for residents," he said.
The problems have escalated so much that many long-time residents are selling their properties and leaving the area, says Vishnu Ranade, a long-time resident of the Deccan Gymkhana area.
"Once these lanes were quiet. Now, with unplanned constructions and conversion of residential areas into commercial establishments, the area is facing issues of parking, noise pollution, sanitation, cleanliness, water scarcity, etc.
The population density has gone up four times, but roads remain the same, narrow and choked, and the footpaths are overrun by hawkers," he said.
Ranade said that all kinds of commercial establishments have started operating out of residential zones: offices, clinics, cafes, and restaurants. "Bhandarkar Road is a prime example; it has become a bank street. New restaurants keep popping up, but there is no thought given to waste disposal, parking, or the general ambience.
You can't have restaurants, cafes, schools, and houses all packed into the same zone without looking at what is happening to the neighbourhood.
And yet, authorities keep approving more buildings as all they care about is the tax revenue. If a fire truck had to pass through the lane next to Good Luck Cafe, it would be impossible. We have raised this issue with the corporator, the commissioner, everyone, but to no use. It is like hitting your head against a wall," he said.
For those who bought houses far from the main city 15 years ago to enjoy peaceful tree-lined lanes, it is now hard to cross the street due to traffic chaos. Senior citizen Pushpa Chavan, a long-time resident of Salunkhe Vihar Road, off NIBM road, said, "Now, old bungalows or buildings are being torn down and replaced with commercial complexes. Coaching classes, restaurants, all kinds of businesses have taken over the neighbourhood, making roadside and double parking a daily problem.
There is barely any space to walk. The road is choked, and as a senior citizen, even crossing the street has become difficult. It almost feels like PMC doesn't care about the impact of unplanned development on people."
Transformation is the rule, said Pune district housing federation chairman Suhas Patwardhan, who grew up in Pune and lives in Panchavati. "But how the transformation happens, that is important. New buildings will come in place of old ones, and everything changes.
But the rules must be followed to ensure existing residents are not troubled, and that is what is lacking and leads to problems. When a commercial building comes up, it is supposed to have sufficient parking, without which the plan must not be sanctioned by PMC.
But the builder shows it on paper, and the sanctioning authority also doesn't check strictly, leading to chaos."
He said the need of the hour is for people to unite and oppose.
"The authorities must be held responsible for this. It is not the lack of rules, but the issue that they remain only on paper, which creates problems," Patwardhan said, giving the example of how residential areas of Baner and Bavdhan are now facing this problem.
Kishor Godbole, secretary of the Deccan Gymkhana Colony Panchayat, said, "There are multiple restaurants and bars in the area with no parking of their own. Some of them have even started offering valet parking services to their clients, and those vehicles end up being parked in the lanes and bylanes, which is a major issue for residents.
There are other establishments in the area with thousands of members but very limited parking spaces.
As a result, all the vehicles are parked on the narrow roads, creating a traffic mess, especially during peak hours."
Rajendra Chutar, chairman of the Baner-Pashan Link Road Welfare Trust, said, "The problem is not just the conversion of residential areas or other areas into commercial spaces. If a medical shop or a grocery store comes up in a locality, it is still manageable.
But now we are seeing large establishments with thousands of people working in them being set up on roads that are less than 10 metres wide. Shopping spaces are coming up.
The issue is the impunity with which PMC is granting permissions for such conversions without even inspecting how they are going to provide parking, or whether the parking provision is adequate. As a result, everybody parks on the road. It is not just during peak hours; there is traffic chaos all the time."
Monica Adani, a resident of Karvenagar, said, "The area between Ganeshnagar and Karvenagar was a purely residential area earlier but in the recent past, some of the old bungalows or buildings turned into commercial establishments. Appasaheb Kulkarni Road near Navsahyadri society had no eating establishment till now but a restaurant opening in a residential building changed that. It is causing unusual traffic especially during the weekends and on Wednesdays with patrons parking on the road.
Additionally, there are many private buses already parked on the road which also causes traffic congestion."