Free parking: motorists’ woes brim over in City

Free parking: motorists’ woes brim over in City
Deccan Herald

Frayed nerves, despair, chaos... the City witnessed some anxious moments on Friday as toll-free parking was introduced.

“Swalpa adjust madkoli... Take your car a bit forward, please.” “What the hell is this... there is nobody to make space for my vehicle.” “Will my vehicle be safe without a parking attendant?”

It is bedlam on Bangalore roads on day one of the free-parking regime introduced by the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) on Friday. Busy Bangaloreans literally underwent a test of patience while locating a parking space for their vehicles in the absence of attendants.

While vehicle owners on the one hand had to wait in despair for several hours to find space in many places, on the other, it hindered the smooth flow of traffic on city roads. On the busy M G Road, Church Street and St Mark’s Road, many four-wheelers were seen parked right in the middle of the road — parallel to the designated parking lots — due to lack of space. On many other roads too, two-wheelers were parked haphazardly, apparently due to the absence of attendants.
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On M G Road, Infantry Road, Cunningham Road, Dickenson Road and Residency Road, office-goers had to wait for hours to park the vehicles.

Finding a place wasn’t the only worry. Vehicle owners were also anxious about the safety of their vehicles. With no one to guide vehicles into the parking lots, people complained of their vehicles being damaged as a result of chaos.

“After much difficulty, I could find a place for my car. But I am worried about its safety. With so much confusion, anybody can come and bump into my vehicle,” Mr Nagaraj, a vehicle owner said.

R Srinivas, a four-wheeler owner, who had come for shopping, could not get a place to park on Church Street. “Where do I park my vehicle? There is no space. A parking attendant would always help to make a space. Whom I should ask now,” he complained.

Police on prowl

As if the mess up with the parking was not enough, the traffic police went on a towing spree. Hundreds of vehicles that were parked outside the designated parking space were towed away from almost all busy roads.

While free parking was a bane on busy main roads, it was apparently a boon for motorists in residential areas like Malleshwaram, Sheshadripuram, Rajajinagar, Basaveshwarnagar, Vijayanagar, Basavanagudi, Jayanagar and other places.

Though the traffic police had a tough time preventing haphazard parking, it did not by and large affect the traffic flow.

Police Commissioner S Mariswamy told Deccan Herald that free parking is a “retrograde” step, and it has an impact on the city traffic. “Problems with the city traffic are multiplying every day. Free parking has only added to the woes.” Without any regulation on parking, it is difficult to maintain order on busy roads,” he added.

When contacted, Mayor R Narayanaswamy has urged the people to cooperate.