JOIN USHaphazard parking adds to travails
Come weekends and one can see vehicles being parked on both sides of the road near most shopping complexes, malls, especially places in and around MG Road. This sort of random parking springs up only on weekends and the Bangalore Traffic Police concede that it is a challenge to control this.
Parking vehicles on both sides not only narrows down the road but also makes it hard for pedestrians to cross or navigate. In an effort to regulate parking, Bangalore Traffic Police say that they clamp four wheelers parked in ‘no parking’ spots. The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) had proposed a couple of multi-storied parking facilities in the central part of the City, but nothing has materialised. People continue to park wherever they get space.
B Dayananda, additional commissioner of police (traffic), says that wrong
parking is a huge problem in the City.
The cases registered for wrong parking have steadily increased in the last three years. The year 2012 saw 15 lakh cases. In 2013, there were 20 lakh cases and in 2014, till date, there has been 1,89,000 cases registered for wrong parking.
Dayananda says they prefer to use clamps rather than tow away vehicles as the latter is a financial burden and requires at least one or more traffic personnel to be put on the job. “For wrong parking, two-wheeler riders have to pay a fine of Rs 300, of which Rs 100 is the parking fine while Rs 200 goes towards the towing charges.
The four-wheeler drivers have to pay Rs 100 as parking fine and Rs 300 as towing charges. But looks like this hasn’t deterred people from parking in wrong places,” adds Dayananda.
M Lakshminarayana, commissioner, BBMP, states that parking policy is an important part of this year’s budget and multi-storied car parks are an indispensable part of the budget plan.
“Tenders for proposed multi-storied parking lots at Russell Market and near Freedom Park have been called for. They will have a fee structure that is quite different from the ones in the pay and park system. But nobody has come forward to take up the tender,” reasons Lakshminarayana.
Citizens feel parking in the City must be better regulated and streamlined.
Raghunandan HR, a student of Government Arts College, feels that there is an urgent need for multi-storied parking lot in commercial areas, “Parking on both sides of the road not only narrows down the stretch but also makes it difficult for pedestrians to move around.”
J Krishnan, a resident of Bannerghatta Road, feels that more than parking, the
transportation issues in the City will have to be tackled in a more effective way.
“For the City to have a seamless mode of transportation, Metro trains and buses will have to be supplemented with taxies or autos. This will force people to take public transport and reduce congestion on the road,” reasons
Krishnan, who adds that this will also indirectly solve the parking problem to an extent.