Parking Chakkar 5: CMH Road

The recent spurt in commercial activity on CMH Road in Indirangar has lead to parking chaos.

PARKING WOES-5 CMH ROAD, 100 FT ROAD
Where more is not merrier
Times of India

Bangalore: Chinmaya Mission Hospital (CMH) Road, which connects Indiranagar to Ulsoor and MG Road, has one of the highest number of land use violations. A purely residential area at one point, CMH Road has metamorphosed into a commercial hub without adequate infrastructure. On the other hand, 100 Feet Road, though narrow at a particular stretch, is seeing pavement parking of late, hindering movement of pedestrians. Indiranagar, whose main roads till recently had huge bungalows on either side, is seeing a spurt in commercial activity with companies making a beeline for the area.

1 The hazards:
Haphazard parking and badly managed pay-and-park scheme on CMH Road, which is narrow.
Commercial complexes without basement parking add to chaos.
BMTC buses use this link road, take away majority of road space.
CMH Road is now a food street with restaurants and roadside joints mushrooming, and attracting more people.
Though 100 Feet Road is a no-parking stretch, pavement parking obstructs pedestrians.
Parking in residential bylanes, where land use rules have been violated and commercialisation has taken over.

2 Vox populi:
Streamline parking; parking attendants fleece vehicle owners and vehicles are not safe.
Ensure that commercial buildings provide parking for customers.

3 Any solutions?
The Bangalore Agenda Task Force, which had carried out the Local Area Traffic Management programme for Indiranagar and CMH Road, came out with several recommendations which have not been put to use:
Covered drain on CMH Road near the graveyard can be used for parking two-wheelers — alternative parking near that stretch can be banned.
Huge chunk of BMTC land on 17F Cross, CMH Road, now unused, can be turned into four-wheeler parking ground.
Land on 6th Main Road can be used for parking.

EXPERT OPINION
B.H. Sanjeev Kumar, Traffic planner

• Ban alternative parking on CMH Road and use covered drain.
• Enforce traffic rules, prevent parking on pavements of Indiranagar 100 Feet Road.
• Implement recommendations of Local Area Traffic Management Programme of BATF.

YOUR VOICE/ MALLESWARAM

Below is a suggestion from a reader on providing parking space.
Ban parking: Parking should not be allowed in Malleshwaram, especially on one-way roads. Push carts, vendors and autos are parked at junctions. As the enforcement is weak, people do not follow traffic rules. Illegal parking slots and contractors have cropped up on all roads in Malleswaram. — Indu Prakash, Malleswaram.