The Hindu       07.09.2016  

Multi-level car parking facility on the cards

Faced with a traffic mess caused by the absence of
parking space in many of the prime commercial areas, the Tiruchi
Corporation plans to build a multi-level car parking lot in the city.

The
Corporation has decided to hire a consultant through Tamil Nadu Urban
Infrastructure Financial Services to prepare a detailed project report.

A
resolution to this effect was approved at a recent Corporation council
meeting. The move is based on a directive from the Commissioner of
Municipal Administration, asking the civic body to forward a proposal to
hire a consultant.

The Corporation has tentatively
identified a 0.43-acre site along Rettai Vaaikal that runs across the
cross roads in Thillai Nagar.

A Corporation official
said the space along the channel has been cleared of encroachments and a
multi-level parking lot could be constructed without affecting the
drainage canal. However, a decision on the location would be taken only
after a survey by the consultant, an official said.

The
decision comes in the wake of persistent demands from civic activists
and residents to regulate parking in places such as West Boulevard Road,
NSB Road, Nandhi Koil Street, Thillai Nagar Main Road, Shastri Road and
other places.

Narrow roads and indiscriminate
parking of vehicles have made driving a nightmarish experience in these
areas. Many of the major commercial establishments, which have set shop
in multi-storey buildings, do not have parking space.

The few that could can hardly accommodate a handful of cars and two-wheelers.

In
Thillai Nagar, people visiting shops and innumerable commercial
establishments along Thillai Nagar Main Road and Shastri Road park their
vehicles on the roadside. The situation has turned so bad that vehicles
could hardly negotiate some of the cross roads, especially the 11th
Cross. Accidents have become frequent at the cross road intersections.

Pay-and-park system

In
2014, the Corporation unveiled a plan to introduce a pay-and-park
system on a pilot basis, predominantly in and around Thillai Nagar, but
the initiative never took off. Earlier, it had toyed with an idea of
building a multi-storeyed parking lot at Yanaikulam where a commercial
complex is planned to be built. Civic activists have long been
suggesting that a parking lot be established at Yanaikulam.

“The
parking lot should be located around the Mainguard Gate area, given its
proximity to the city’s main commercial areas,” said M. Sekaran,
president, Federation of Consumer and Service Organisations. The
Corporation should create designated parking areas in each locality and
the space available beneath Thennur overbridge can be used for the
purpose, he said.

But not all are convinced that the latest move by the Corporation to build a multi-level parking lot could solve the problem.

“Thillai
Nagar attracts a lot of floating population and it is doubtful whether
people visiting the shops and business houses would go all the way to
Fort Station road to park their vehicle and walk down,” says Jude P.
Armstrong, a resident of Thillai Nagar.

Pointing out
that indiscriminate two-wheeler parking also caused the problem, Mr.
Armstrong feels that introduction of pay-and-park system and strict
enforcement would be an ideal solution.

The corporation could appoint contractors to collect the fee and it would get revenue also, he said.

N.
Ramakrishnan, a civic activist, also says the Corporation would do well
to find an immediate solution by earmarking parking spaces rather than
squandering public money on ambitious projects.