Pedestrians left in the lurch

Have you ever had to step off the walkway because of parked vehicles and face the oncoming traffic? Add pavement parking to the lack of civic sense seen on the road and you have a perfect concoction for road hazards. While people have their own excuses for it, this is a major inconvenience to pedestrians whatsoever. Metrolife talks to people in the City, about the hazards of parking on sidewalks.

Rakesh G, software professional, says, “While people might be too busy to bother about the inconvenience they cause to others, by parking on the pavements, they do face the reality and get annoyed when they have to face it themselves.” Having a young child aged four, Rakesh and wife Soundarya, have had to tug the child along, even when they’re taking the child out for a fun time outside. “I always tell my son to not go past the pavements. But when there are vehicles on sidewalks, we have to keep a close watch of him,” adds Rakesh.

Savita Bhavsar, an event manager, feels that this is a common sight in front of two-wheeler showrooms and market areas. “I live in Banashankari III Stage, and I always see vehicles on the pavements there. Also, this is quite a regular scene in front of eateries like those in Koramangala and the stretch from Dairy Circle to Big Bazaar,” opines Savita.

She says that although fines are levied for such issues, there should be stricter norms for the same. The traffic should be more vigilant. “Whenever we’re walking on a road, apart from the fact that we have to face the danger of the oncoming vehicles, there is also the frustration of the drivers, who cease to understand and empathise with the situation,” adds Savita.

There are also people who feel that this could be happening more in the City due to decreased designated parking slots.

“If one looks around, the number of vehicles on the road, and assigned places
to park, are a big difference.When one can’t find a parking space and they have to rush for something, this often happens,” comments Bharath Reddy, an accounts retrievable senior associate. Bharath strongly feels that the mentality of the people has to change and the police has to become stricter. The City needs a new technological set-up to show the availability of parking space at each designated place and also needs a lot more space for parking,” suggests Bharath.

Talk to the authorities and they say that they are doing their best to keep the situation in control. M A Saleem, additional commissioner of police (traffic), informs, “There have been 19,500 cases registered between January 1 and March 31 in this regard and we are continuing to keep a strict watch on the same. We did awareness drives in the month of March too.” Saleem adds that this offence is most seen in commercial areas like Shivajinagar, Koramangala, Chikpet, Cubbonpet, Indirangar and other such places.