Dude, where do I park?

CHENNAI: A large part of a day-out with family, friends and loved ones in the city is spent searching for parking space in the neighbourhood that doesn’t charge a bomb. Those who commute in Chennai with a vehicle would understand the pain of this experience.

The number of vehicles plying on city roads is increasing each year. While it’s great for business, inadequate infrastructure of the city lends itself to a lack of parking space, which is a bane to any vehicle owner.

Road rage due to parking issues has become a major issue in the city. Urban planners admit that parking menace affects traffic flow and mental health of motorists. Piling on the woes is the parking fee that has gone on an upwards spiral and increased several folds, forcing motorists to eye for free road space anywhere they can. And that leads to more chaos, and the loop goes on.

Despite the fee laid by civic body authorities for parking in public places, including beaches and shopping areas, people hesitate to pay up. Instead, they prefer to park their vehicles on the side of the road or anywhere they see an empty space, which obstructs free movement of vehicles. This leaves no room for pedestrians and often leads to skirmishes on the pavement.

Several requests have been posed to the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) to impose parking charges on the streets as well, so motorists park in the allocated space only. “There’s parking space inside the Madras High Court premises and a nearby church. But people still park on the pathway. We’re forced to walk on the main road which is already congested. We don’t find traffic police taking any steps such as imposing fines or seizing the vehicles,” stated G Uma Maheshwari, a resident of George Town.

Wide footpaths with bollards constructed for pedestrians are being blatantly used for parking cars and other heavy vehicles. Complaints lead to action by the authorities. Cops take photographs after clearing the public spaces and close the complaint. The relief is short-lived for pedestrians and shopkeepers, as vehicles come back on the pavement within a couple of days.

Though there’s a multi-level parking available on Thanikachalam Road (that runs perpendicular to Pondy Bazaar in T Nagar), it’s barely used. Most prefer to park on either side of the road, where several developments were made under the infamous Smart City Project. One of which was the promenade that narrowed the main road substantially. With vehicles parked on both sides, it’s a perfect recipe for traffic snarls and road rage.

The situation is similar on both north and south Usman Roads. It doesn’t help that Metro Rail construction is going on in the neighbourhood, adding to the noise and chaos. With T Nagar being an expensive residential area and also a major commercial hub, the issue of parking menace is glaring.

“Parking fees are high, and motorists are unwilling to pay. Instead, they park on the street. Most streets are being used for parking, which restricts free movement of the residents, especially senior citizens,” laments VS Jayaraman, a resident of Motilal St on North Usman Road.

It’s worse during the weekends when scores of people throng the shopping hub and most of them want to park near the shops. Of course, few big retail giants on Usman Road have valet parking but it doesn’t ease the madness. And residents and shopkeepers claim that there has been no enforcement by the authorities.

Civic activists urge the GCC to start levying high fines on those who park vehicles on the road instead on the allotted space in the city.

“Since it’s free of cost to park on the streets, people prefer parking there. The government must introduce a bill banning people from buying more than one car for each family. This city will explode with daily traffic snarls if the illegal street parking is not controlled,” suggests Raghukumar C, an activist. “For instance, there was a parking space in a hotel in Perambur, but now it has turned into a commercial establishment. So, people end up parking on the road, creating traffic congestion. Pedestrians are forced to walk in the middle of the road, especially during festival time and weekends.”

The GCC authorities cleared the bikes after complaints were raised, and the chaos eased up a bit for a day or two. But everything went back to the way it was.

Raghukumar explained, “The GCC should start charging a proportionate fee by installing meters on the streets. Several cars remain endlessly parked on the streets across the city with the owners choosing to use them occasionally.”

In Chennai, a Smart Parking Management System was implemented on-street and off-street. On-Street parking is spread all across the city in major areas of public footfall, and Off-Street Parking is the multi-level set up in Pondy Bazaar.

“The initial days of enforcement had major public denial. But as the charges are made mandatory, and the practice being implemented in all key areas, people are getting accustomed to the system slowly. Though the acceptance is minimal towards parking charges, the space constraint for parking is a key factor for people to accept the system,” said an employee at the Smart Parking provider service, a private contractor in collaboration with the GCC. The city corporation along with the traffic department are enforcing fines and other charges, and claimed that people would be “ready to pay the parking fee rather than bear fines”.

As of now, there’s no revision of prices, as it’s the discretion of the corporation authorities to decide.