A few prominent schools will have a tough time dealing with parking issues as the city traffic police plans to remove the parking lots on the Residency Road stretch. The parking lots will be removed to implement BMTC’s Priority Lane project.
Sources said that if parking on the left side of the road is not removed, the project cannot take off. The first phase of the priority lane project has been planned between Kempegowda Bus Station and ASC Centre on Old Airport Road and stretches for six km. The project envisages to reserve a lane for BMTC buses on the identified roads, hence making commuting on buses faster and more reliable. The priority lane will run on the Town Hall- Richmond Circle- Residency Road- Mayo hall- Garuda Mall- ASC Centre route. But the problem lies at Residency Road where the left lane is taken up for parking.
“The project cannot be executed if the left-most side of the roads en route is occupied as that will be reserved for BMTC buses. We have had a round of discussion with the Bangalore Traffic Police chief. The talks have taken positive shape,” informed a BMTC senior official. This will, however, be a problem for students and their parents. Due to lack of sufficient parking space inside schools, in 2005, the Bangalore Traffic Police had decided to allow roadside parking under the Safe Route to School project.
“We are working on how efficiently the Priority Lane project could be implemented. The solution is to remove parking on Residency Road. In 2005, we had permitted parking there. We are in talks with various organisations, including schools. We will have to take everybody concerned into confidence before we remove parking from Residency Road. Once the parking is removed, we do not intend to relocate the parking lot as nowhere in the city is parking on roads legalised,” said Additional Commissioner of Police for Traffic, Mr M.A. Saleem.