KOCHI: Uncontrolled parking of vehicles on footpaths along busy roads in the city is turning out to be a big headache for commuters and pedestrians forcing them to walk on the road. This issue is prevalent in areas near the district collector’s camp house, Hospital Road and MG Road. Prashant Prabhu, a commuter on the Hospital Road said people continue to park vehicles on the footpath because of the limited parking space inside General Hospital. “Bystanders and visitors to the hospital are the worst affected as they face great difficulty in finding a suitable place to park their vehicle amid the chaotic traffic,” said Prashant.
According to Kumbalam Ravi, district president, Residents Association Coordination Council (RACO), vehicles parked illegally on Club Road leads to frequent traffic blocks. “Works by Cochin Smart Mission on Cannon Shed Road and Park Avenue Road are disrupting the movement of traffic. The footpath towards the East of Maharaja’s College which was constructed by Smart Mission recently has also significantly reduced the width of the road there,” Ravi said.
He also blamed the bicycle tracks for the congestion. “A large portion of the road is gone towards making the tracks,” Ravi said. However, contrary to the claims made by people, Smart Mission Authorities stated no footpath was widened or constructed by acquiring roads. “The width of the footpath at Hospital road was increased by acquiring land from General Hospital.
We had executed the work for building a dedicated path for walkers from Maharaja’s College to Ernakulam Boat Jetty,” a Smart Mission spokesperson said. The official added that bicycle tracks were set up on a temporary basis. “We will see whether it is viable before proceeding. The tracks have been built for ensuring last mile connectivity and for promoting non-motorised transport,” she said.
Vehicles were removed, say traffic police
T B Vijayan, ACP, Traffic West said that they monitored the issue at Hospital Road and removed vehicles from the footpath. He added that police authorities are taking strict action against offenders, including charging fines from them and ordering the removal of the vehicles from the area. He further added that police can’t act on the parking issue along Park Avenue Road until the road work is completed by Smart Mission.
Commenting on the limited parking spaces available in the city, Sanil Mon J, chairperson, Standing Committee for Town Planning said, “Corporation is busy conducting surveys to find areas to host multi-level parking facilities. A blueprint of parking spaces, vending and non-vending zones is also being prepared by the Corporation. Meetings involving the police and traffic authorities were also conducted to curb illegal parking,” Sanil said.