Altamount Road to get art, history corners

The city’s swish set is waiting to get a swankier neighbourhood. The proposal does not aim for beautification alone and includes plans to ensure smooth traffic flow, parking, road dividers and a green belt on either side of the 1.2 km-stretch.

The city’s swish set is waiting to get a swankier neighbourhood.

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Residents of Altamount Road — home to the likes of Reliance Industries Ltd Chairman Mukesh Ambani and Aditya Birla Group chief Kumar Mangalam Birla — has tabled a makeover plan to the civic body for approval.

The proposal does not aim for beautification alone and includes plans to ensure smooth traffic flow, parking, road dividers and a green belt on either side of the 1.2 km-stretch.

The plan includes developing six corners along the road, each with a different theme: while one can be a children’s corner, another can be designed as an art corner. A clock tower is also on the agenda.

“The idea is to have reference points along the road and to have uniformity that will give the area a certain character,” said Gautam Watsa, honorary secretary of the Altamount Road Area Citizens Committee.

The master plan, that was prepared three years ago and is awaiting the civic body’s clearance, intends to gather underground utilities — like MTNL and BEST lines — in a single duct placed under the pavement, so that repairs don’t mean digging up the entire road.

“Every house in the area has more than one car. So, stack parking and multi-layer parking lots will be planned for each building. Green strips will be developed along these parking lots,” Shirish Shah, conveyor of the plan.

Solar panels and rainwater harvesting are also part of the project.