Parking menace echoes in MCC's traffic meeting

The problem of illegal parking on the city’s roads was the subject of discussion at the traffic meeting convened at the Mangaluru City Corporation office on Friday.

Mangaluru South MLA J R Lobo told the town planning officer to identify land for parking spaces. He said a survey on basement parking areas at commercial complexes should be conducted.

The MLA said the metal barricades put up around the city have become dirty and therefore, steps should be taken by the MCC to clean them or paint them. The broken ones should be replaced, Lobo said.

During the raids on illegal petty shops by the MCC, the information on the time of the raid is being leaked. Whenever there are raids, the illegal shop owners become alert and shift their petty shops, he noted.

While reviewing the follow-up of resolutions passed during the previous meeting, the town planning officer said out of the 51 road humps proposed by the traffic department, 48 have been completed. The rest will be done within a week.

DCP (Traffic) Dr Sanjiv Patil directed the official to paint the humps immediately after construction or else, the humps may lead to accidents. Lobo said more humps are needed in the city and a joint survey should be conducted by MCC officials and the traffic department.

Corporator Vinay Raj said parking spaces in the commercial complexes have been illegally occupied by shops. There is a lot of traffic density at bus stands as the distance of two bus stops is less than 15 metres, such as at Ambedkar Circle and Hampankatta, he said.

Corporator Ratikala said the road in front of Shadi Mahal in Bolar is overcrowded with parking of vehicles during functions leading to a huge traffic jam.

Corporator Purushottam Chitrapur said heavy vehicles are being been parked on either sides of Panambur Road. The vehicle drivers should be instructed to park their vehicles at the truck terminal only, he suggested.

On the issue of dumping of seized vehicles in front of police stations, Sanjiv Patil said the seized vehicles could be cleared only after court order. MCC may provide land near the police stations to keep such vehicles, he said.

Mayor Kavita Sanil said strict action will be taken against parking vehicles on roads and against building owners reserving parking spaces on the roadsides. “There are plans to identify lands for introducing paid parking system,” she said.

The mayor directed MCC superintending engineer to take up the development work of Nanthoor Circle on priority.

She also felt for a need to initiate action against the private buses which board their passengers in front of KSRTC at Bejai. As many private buses line up, the vehicle movement on the road is affected, she said.

The members of the public, present in the meeting, raised concerns on the encroachment of footpath by an illegal building in Falnir and by garages in Sandesha Pratishthana in Bajjodi.