The Hindu          30.10.2014  

Corporation mulls ‘pay-and-park’ system in Thillai Nagar

The Tiruchirapalli City Corporation has proposed to levy a fee for parking vehicles on some arterial roads in the city.

The
proposal, once approved by the Corporation Council, may be implemented
on a pilot basis predominantly in and around Thillai Nagar, the city’s
prime residential locality where a large number of commercial
establishments have come up in recent years.

According
to the proposal, the fee is to be levied for vehicles parked on the
Thillai Nagar Main Road, Shastri Road, and Fort Station Road, all in
Thillai Nagar, and E.V.R.Road-Vayalur Road near Puthur.

The
corporation plans to levy a fee of Rs. 3 for two-wheelers; Rs. 5 for
four-wheelers such as cars and vans and Rs. 10 for buses. All rates will
be applicable for a six-hour period.

The corporation estimates that it could rake in about Rs. 22 lakh a year through the levy of the parking fee on these roads.

The
civic body’s initiative seems to be mainly aimed at cashing in the
large number of shoppers who clock the areas. In the absence of
provision for parking in most of the commercial buildings, visitors park
their vehicles on the road sides.

It has been widely
alleged that many of these buildings have been built with plan
approvals showing parking space in basements but these have been
converted into commercial area in violation of the rules.

According
to an official resolution which will be tabled before the Corporation
Council, there were 280 commercial establishments on the Thillai Nagar
Main Road; 172 on Shastri Road; 50 on Fort Station Road, and 20 along
the EVR Road.

In recent years, the police had enforced a no-parking rule along the arterial roads such as the Thillai Nagar Main Road.

But this is giving headache to people living on the cross roads in the area as vehicles are parked haphazardly on these roads.

With
violators often being penalised, people visiting the shops and
innumerable commercial establishments along the Thillai Nagar Main Road
started flocking the cross roads to park their vehicles. The situation
has turned so bad that vehicles could hardly negotiate the cross roads,
especially at the 11th Cross. Accidents have become frequent at the
cross road intersections.

There have been demands
that parking should not be allowed for at least 100 metres on the cross
roads from the Thillai Nagar Main Road.

It remains to be seen whether the corporation move will help regulate the problem or aggravate it.