Bangalore: There is hardly any officially notified parking space in Bangalore, and poor management of existing ones. Rubbing salt into an open wound, the police registered the most cases among the 38 possible traffic offences for wrong parking. There is an increase in these cases every year.
Figures from the police archives, show the following figures:
Wrong Parking 2012: 14,91,071
Wrong Parking 2013: 19,95,010
Wrong Parking 2014: 7,94,376 (till august)
Parking on footpaths 2012: 25,843
Parking on footpaths 2013: 61,303
Parking on footpaths 2014: 12,312 (till august)
Parking at intersections 2012: 20,701
Parking at Intersections 2013: 26,221
Parking at Intersections 2014: 14,350 (till august)
Experts say that this problem has been created by violation of building byelaws and the lack of officially notified parking spaces in the city.
M N Srihari, traffic engineering expert and advisor to the State government, speaking to Daily, said: “Roads are not meant for parking but for traffic. So, this shows that building bylaws are not being followed and parking spaces are being converted into commercial and residential units. If every building provides for parking, there will be no such problem.”
Srihari further said that the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) and the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) ought to serve notice on builders, and demolish buildings that had not provided for parking. But no such action has been taken till date, he rued.
According to Pranav Jha, co-founder of Praja, apartment buildings have also parking issues. In most apartment buildings, guests are forced to park their vehicles outside.
Experts say that the solution is to check all areas and clear parking, enforce strict parking norms and cancel licences of commercial establishments that do not provide parking spaces. But this is easier said than done, given the city’s poor governance record, slow and disabling legal system and understaffed police department.
BBMP Commissioner, N Lakshminarayana, admits there is a dearth of parking space and said a proposal was pending before the BBMP?council to regulate parking across the City.
