MADURAI: People visiting commercial hubs in the city to shop for festivals face hardship as vehicles parked indiscriminately along the road reduce carriageway and trigger snarls, With a large number of shoppers expected to throng these commercial areas for Deepavali, traffic snarls are likely to intensify unless parking is regulated.
Vilakkuthoon, Keelavasal, Avani Moola Streets and the Masi Streets are among the commercial hubs that witness indiscriminate roadside parking, while the corporation-run two multi-level car parking (MLCP) facilities remain under utilised.
R Rajesh Kannan, a shopper from Thenur said “Commuting on the Onion Market Road from Mahal would taken nearly 15 - 30 minutes because vehicles complete bloc half of the road. The situation is same on Vilakkuthoon and Netaji roads.”
According to sources in the corporation, the MLCP near the Meenakshi Sundareswarar temple, which can accommodate 800 cars, is fully utilised. However, the one at Periyar bus stand, which can accommodate 226 cars and 4,500 two-wheelers, remains under utilised.
Sources, around 170 car owners have been issued monthly parking passes at the Periyar facility, and only 90 vehicles use it regularly. With substantial space remaining free, the facility can be used to handle the festival rush for which the corporation is planning to coordinate with the police to encourage shoppers visiting Avani Moola Street and adjoining commercial areas to use the Periyar MLCP.
A senior official from the city traffic police wing said shoppers park vehocles on the roads because many shops in these commercial hubs do not have adequate parking facilities. Police personnel have been deployed in Keelavasal, Kamarajar Salai, Mahal, and other areas to regulate the traffic and prevent parking on roads.
“We are educating the people regarding the parking menace amid festive rush. Along with corporation we encourgae shoppers to use the Periyar MLCP and admitted location while placing no parking barricades in sensitive location. With footfall increasing as diwali nears, several measures are being taken to maintain smoother traffic,” senior police officials added.
Meanwhile, the civic body’s proposal to introduce regulated on-road parking remains stalled despite the issuance of a work order. Officials said opposition from traders had delayed the implementation of the system.
