Illegal parking rampant on Church Street

With no policemen in sight, cars and autos stay put for long hours, ignoring the many no-parking boards

Residents and business owners on Church Street would like the traffic police to check illegal parking, a rampant problem.

Church Street has parking spots for about 156 two-wheelers and 27 cars, but on any given day, visitors can spot illegally-parked vehicles, especially four-wheelers.

Deepak Batavia, president, Church Street Occupants’ Association, says, “It is a one-way street. We can take our cars out on one side of the driveway but if a vehicle is blocking it, it causes delay.”

He says illegally-parked vehicles belong to visitors who come to collect food parcels or buy things. “They say they will be back in five or 10 minutes and ask their drivers to wait on the street. If the police are not around, they get away with parking for longer,” he says.

When Metrolife reporters visited Church Street a few times this week, they spotted many cars parked without drivers. Security guards and street vendors said a majority of these vehicles belonged to store owners. A watchman said since the towing rule had been put on hold, drivers were emboldened to park wherever they liked.

They also said that the police routinely click photos of illegally-parked vehicles and leave tickets on them yet people continue to park in undesignated spots.

Content marketing specialist Vaishnavi Anil gets down at the Church Street metro station and walks to her office on Brigade Road five days a week. She doesn’t recall a single instance of the police clearing vehicles during peak hours in the evening.

Autorickshaws are not allowed on the stretch from Brigade Road to the junction near Empire Hotel, but in the evening, even that rule goes for a toss.

Auto drivers park on Church Street near Brigade Road, waiting for customers from the pubs and bars, and demanding exorbitant fares.

Daily commuters say the police do nothing to enforce plying by meter.

Cop speaks

DCP (Traffic, East) K M Shantharaju told Metrolife police had booked 701 cases for wrong parking on Church Street and collected Rs 1.6 lakh in fine since January this year. The penalty is Rs 500.

An assistant sub-inspector, a constable, a motorbike patrolling officer, and one policeman at the traffic booth are deputed to monitor Church Street at all times, he says.

“These vehicles mostly belong to traders (store owners),” a policeman attached to the Cubbon Park traffic police station says.

Most times, drivers are not on the scene so it becomes difficult to clear the vehicles, he adds.

Shantharaju said police would continue to penalise errant drivers and make public announcements to discourage wrong parking on the street.

‘Civilians ignored over politicians’

Ramasastry Ambarish, president, Church Street Residents’ Welfare Association, says the association has submitted multiple representations to the traffic department to address illegal parking, and also hawkers obstructing the footpath. No action has been taken, he says.

“The reason we are given is that unlike Brigade Road which falls under the jurisdiction of Ashok Nagar police station, Church Street comes under the Cubbon Park police station. The Cubbon Park police also monitor the Vidhana Soudha (the state secretariat). They are ignoring civilians for politicians. We are thinking of submitting an application to the police commissioner to bring Church Street under the Ashok Nagar police,” he says.