Unplanned road widening works and lack of parking lots have increased the number of parking violations in the city. In the last nine months of this year, over 10 lakh cases have been booked for wrong parking.
The police records reveal that till September 30, there were 10,42,706 parking violation cases booked in the city, while last year it was far lesser at below seven lakhs.
Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) M.A. Saleem said that not just ongoing works, even the traffic police have been cracking down hard on wrong parking as it affects the movement of traffic in the city. “With it, the number of cases booked has gone over 10 lakhs. We expect more cases booked for wrong parking,” he said.
But traffic experts squarely blame the BBMP for not providing adequate parking facilities to vehicle users. Professor M.N. Sreehari, who is adviser to the chief minister on road transport, pointed out that adequate parking is not available in the busiest zones in the city and vehicle users are left with no choice but to park in no-parking zones.
“The police are doing their job and the statistics show that. But the police need to take action in busy areas, where people park vehicles even though there are facilities available, like on J.C. Road. There is multi-level parking lot on the road, but still people park their vehicles on the roadside. Vehicle-users too should take the initiative to follow rules for their own benefit. The police should crack down against those who park on footpaths and non-designated areas, especially around schools,” he said.
Saleem said that the police are also planning to improve the visibility of ‘No-Parking’ signboards, as people often complain that the boards are not visible. “We are purchasing 8,000 new signboards, and of them 4,000 are ‘No-Parking’ signs. The new signages will come up over the next few months on the stretches where parking will be banned,” he said.