CHENNAI: On an average day, around 3,000 of the corporation’s total 5,000 equivalent car spaces for on-street parking are full, according to estimates. Encouraged by the numbers, the corporation is now planning to increase the number of ECS (space required to park one car) to 12,000.
According to a senior corporation official, the survey is on for expanding the on-street parking spaces in the city. “We are looking at all bus route roads, as part of the expansion plans. Any bus route road where there is a possibility of parking, will be considered,” said a corporation official.
It now has on-street parking in areas such as Anna Nagar second avenue, Marina beach service road, Besant Nagar 6th Avenue and Purasawalkam. The corporation believes that this is the way forward in streamlining parking, having tasted success in places like T Nagar. Officials said in T Nagar, after on-street parking was implemented, congestion has been reduced to an extent and they are hoping to replicate the same results in other commercial streets.
While it is looking to expand, there are still some issues in streets where the parking system has been implemented. For instance, in Anna Nagar second avenue, staff said the shift begins at 11:30 am and goes on until 9:30 pm. While also being overworked on many days, some residents just refuse to pay up, she said. “If they have a politician’s photo in the car, they don’t pay and if the car has a party flag, they don’t pay. There are others too who say we are only going to park here for five minutes or so and refuse to pay. You cannot afford to fight with these people,” the staff said.
In most of the streets, the corporation has put up sign boards indicating the hourly standard parking charges. “There have been instances in the past where I’ve parked for three to four hours and I feel like I’ve been overcharged. I might have been wrong and those could have been the standard charges but there should be a helpline to clarify doubts. The system is new to the city so there will be some amount of resistance,” said 48-year-old P Raveendran, a businessman.