The festive season, that usually brings wide smiles on the faces of businessmen in some of the commercial hubs of the city, has this year left people in Commercial Street sad and wry. With reduced business, businessmen here are attributing the drop in footfalls to the mounting parking woes in the area.
“For a two-wheeler, apart from Ebrahim Sahib Street and two roads parallel to Jewellers Street, there is no parking place available. In case we cannot find parking there, we have to park almost 1.5 km away and take a walk to Commercial Street,” explained Sukanya Chandra, a shopper.
When it comes to four-wheelers, parking woes double. “There is an automated parking meter installed in the area but it seldom works. Cars are parked haphazardly all over the area,” said K Chetan, a regular shopper.
The Commercial Street traffic police tow away 100-150 vehicles on a daily basis. This number shoots up during weekends. “We are aware that there is a parking problem in the area, but that doesn’t mean that people will break rules and leave their vehicles anywhere on the road. We have placed this problem in front of the seniors and we hope that solutions will come by soon,” said an official from the Police Station.
“This is not a new problem. We have suffered from parking troubles in this area for over two decades now. However, this is the first time it has taken a toll on our business,” said Jeyant Jain, a shopkeeper. Another shopkeeper Gaurav Kumar added, “We are worried because the festive season is round the corner and with no parking space available, people are soon deciding to throng malls and supermarkets, instead of coming to Commercial Street and spending an hour looking for parking.”