Parking Chakkar 8: SJP Road

With motorcycles, cars, tempos and lorries vying for parking space on SJP Road, chaos is the order of the day, at this commercial nerve centre of the city.

PARKING WOES -8 S.J.P. ROAD
Finding slot is like hitting jackpot
Times of India

Bangalore: Gazing down Bangalore’s Silver Jubilee Park Road on a Sunday morning, no one can be faulted for thinking — ‘here’s a road with no parking problems’.

Come Monday and things change drastically. Suddenly, SJP Road looks like the little bylanes behind it. Even pedestrians have to concentrate extra hard to find space.

1 The scenario:
The chaos Vying for parking space on the road every weekday are two-wheelers, four-wheelers, lorries, goods vehicles, buses, push carts, bullock carts and almost every other motorised and non-motorised vehicle.

Once the designated parking spaces are filled up, vehicles spill over on to the road — with people parking in front of vehicles already slotted into the parking zone. On the opposite side, the mayhem is worse. Goods vehicles, loading up hardware in the ‘No Parking’ zone in front of hardware stores. Those who venture onto the narrow crossroads in the hope of finding space have to reckon with the danger of having their vehicles scratched, seats ripped and tyres punctured by angry shop owners.

2 People’s voice:
“This road has been a nightmare for long now. Nobody seems to care. While on the one hand there is no parking space, we have to contend with the traffic police towing vehicle,’’ says Juzer from Taher Tools Agency, SJP Road.

3 Any solutions?
Every store on SJP Road could be assigned space at their doorstep to park goods vehicles and load, unload hardware. Restrict HTV on the road during the day. Move BMTC/KSRTC bus stand near Kalasipalyam and create multi-storied parking lot for cars, twowheelers.

EXPERT OPINION
B.K. Goyal, secretary, Fed. of Trade Associations of Central Bangalore

“The movement of tempos and lorries must be allowed only between 7 pm and 8 am. Traders can load vehicles at this time, they are ready to do it. Alternatively, car parking must be restricted to one side and tempos, lorries to the other side.’’