TIRUCHY: Until recently, it was not uncommon to spot vehicles, including ambulances, 'encroach' upon the pedestrian pathway in front of the K Abishekapuram zonal office, drawing flak for the city corporation.
Things now have, however, taken a turn for the better as the civic body planted saplings beside the footpath last week, drawing wide appreciation.
"The pedestrian path in front of the zonal office is almost at road level, making it easy to park any vehicle. Since the location is close to the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Government Hospital (MGMGH), many private ambulances were using it as parking space. We are glad that the corporation stopped this by planting saplings and placing potted plants along the side of the walkway," said SR Nagaraj, a local resident.
With authorities now curbing parking on the pedestrian pathway, a section of residents has also requested for repainting the faded artwork on the compound wall beside the walkway.
"Last year, the compound wall beside the pedestrian path was adorned with artwork. As it was encroached by parked vehicles, this did not receive public attention. Now that they have public visibility, the corporation should consider repairing them. They should also take up such plantation drives in more locations," said Dhanya K, a resident and college student.
Meanwhile, sources said that the corporation was facing difficulty in preventing parking over the footpath.
"The police had fined some drivers, but this did not stop the parking. It was not possible for them to pay attention to one area always. Therefore, we had to come up with alternatives and decided to plant saplings in near succession instead of barricading the path. The strategy worked," a senior corporation official said.