In a city like Bengaluru, where the number of vehicles is increasing in leaps and bounds with every passing day, parking has become a challenge. Vehicles can be seen parked on the pavements, in a haphazard manner in marked spaces and even beside other parked vehicles.
Illegal parking, where vehicles are parked alongside another line of vehicles, is a traffic offence observed across the city. Despite the Traffic Police trying to create awareness through campaigns, motorists in the city seem to be oblivious to the difficulties this creates. Darshan Nair, a team lead (technical writing), says that in Malleswaram 8th Cross, many parked vehicles occupy almost half of the road and block traffic. "Since there are vendors on the pavements, the pedestrians have to walk on the roads. In fact, this can be seen even within the Central Business District limits, where one can see double parking on Church Street," he says.
He avoids using a four-wheeler in such areas and prefers to drive a two-wheeler. "The traffic authorities need to be on a constant watch and be stringent with rules to deter the offenders," he says.
While parking on pavements is a regular sight, illegal parking is a greater menace. Anju Maudgal Kadam, a media consultant, says that while the number of vehicles are increasing by the day, there is a lack of parking spaces. "Just increasing the amount of fines will not work. There has to be proper implementation of the system with a strict team to monitor the roads," she says. Infrastructure is a huge problem in the city and long-term solutions, like better parking spots, need to be encouraged, adds Anju.
"The roads in the city aren't wide enough and when you add two rows of parked vehicles on the same side to this, there is utter chaos," says Suvin Narayan, an assistant executive officer. Regular perpetrators are cab drivers and even autorickshaw drivers, though they might only intend to stop temporarily.
"This leads to traffic jams. On roads like the 80 Feet Road, buses or larger vehicles won't be able to pass by in such situations. Parking should be curbed on smaller roads. There also needs to be a proper even and odd parking system, so that parking is organised," Suvin adds.
Abhilash R, a data analyst, agrees that the dearth of proper and organised parking spaces leads to illegal parking. "One cannot just blame motorists for this. It is out of desperation that most motorists do this. Imagine wanting to pick up something quickly at a shop and having to search for a spot to park, somewhere quite far away from the shop. Multi-level parking options should come up at commercial hubs like Commercial Streets, where searching for a parking spot itself can take a big part of the day," says Abhilash.
Suresh Kumar, deputy chief traffic warden, divisional incharge (east), says that illegal parking can be seen on many of Bengaluru's jam-packed and busy streets. "Two rows of parked vehicles can be seen even at the busiest roads like MG Road, in Jayanagar Market area, St Mark's Road, Lavelle Road, Mosque Road and Commercial Street," he says.
A fine of Rs 100 is levied for illegal parking and towing charges of Rs 1,000 are charged on a four-wheeler vehicle and Rs 600 on a two-wheeler vehicle, says R Hitendra, additional commissioner of police (traffic). "We are concentrating on four-wheelers at the moment as two-wheelers do not obstruct traffic as much. We are keeping a strict watch on the number of vehicles towed, which has gone up to 200 cars per day. This is compared to around 10 to 12 per day earlier," he says. Hitendra adds that business establishments encourage this kind of parking and thus strict penalty is the only way out.
![]( "CHAOTIC Illegal parking of vehicles is a common sight in the city. DH photo by B K JANARDHAN")
In a city like Bengaluru, where the number of vehicles is increasing in leaps and bounds with every passing day, parking has become a challenge. Vehicles can be seen parked on the pavements, in a haphazard manner in marked spaces and even beside other parked vehicles.
Illegal parking, where vehicles are parked alongside another line of vehicles, is a traffic offence observed across the city. Despite the Traffic Police trying to create awareness through campaigns, motorists in the city seem to be oblivious to the difficulties this creates. Darshan Nair, a team lead (technical writing), says that in Malleswaram 8th Cross, many parked vehicles occupy almost half of the road and block traffic. "Since there are vendors on the pavements, the pedestrians have to walk on the roads. In fact, this can be seen even within the Central Business District limits, where one can see double parking on Church Street,” he says.
He avoids using a four-wheeler in such areas and prefers to drive a two-wheeler. "The traffic authorities need to be on a constant watch and be stringent with rules to deter the offenders,” he says.
While parking on pavements is a regular sight, illegal parking is a greater menace. Anju Maudgal Kadam, a media consultant, says that while the number of vehicles are increasing by the day, there is a lack of parking spaces. "Just increasing the amount of fines will not work. There has to be proper implementation of the system with a strict team to monitor the roads,” she says. Infrastructure is a huge problem in the city and long-term solutions, like better parking spots, need to be encouraged, adds Anju.
"The roads in the city aren’t wide enough and when you add two rows of parked vehicles on the same side to this, there is utter chaos,” says Suvin Narayan, an assistant executive officer. Regular perpetrators are cab drivers and even autorickshaw drivers, though they might only intend to stop temporarily.
"This leads to traffic jams. On roads like the 80 Feet Road, buses or larger vehicles won’t be able to pass by in such situations. Parking should be curbed on smaller roads. There also needs to be a proper even and odd parking system, so that parking is organised,” Suvin adds.
Abhilash R, a data analyst, agrees that the dearth of proper and organised parking spaces leads to illegal parking. "One cannot just blame motorists for this. It is out of desperation that most motorists do this. Imagine wanting to pick up something quickly at a shop and having to search for a spot to park, somewhere quite far away from the shop. Multi-level parking options should come up at commercial hubs like Commercial Streets, where searching for a parking spot itself can take a big part of the day,” says Abhilash.
Suresh Kumar, deputy chief traffic warden, divisional incharge (east), says that illegal parking can be seen on many of Bengaluru’s jam-packed and busy streets. "Two rows of parked vehicles can be seen even at the busiest roads like MG Road, in Jayanagar Market area, St Mark’s Road, Lavelle Road, Mosque Road and Commercial Street,” he says.
A fine of Rs 100 is levied for illegal parking and towing charges of Rs 1,000 are charged on a four-wheeler vehicle and Rs 600 on a two-wheeler vehicle, says R Hitendra, additional commissioner of police (traffic). "We are concentrating on four-wheelers at the moment as two-wheelers do not obstruct traffic as much. We are keeping a strict watch on the number of vehicles towed, which has gone up to 200 cars per day. This is compared to around 10 to 12 per day earlier,” he says. Hitendra adds that business establishments encourage this kind of parking and thus strict penalty is the only way out.
Illegal parking, where vehicles are parked alongside another line of vehicles, is a traffic offence observed across the city. Despite the Traffic Police trying to create awareness through campaigns, motorists in the city seem to be oblivious to the difficulties this creates. Darshan Nair, a team lead (technical writing), says that in Malleswaram 8th Cross, many parked vehicles occupy almost half of the road and block traffic. "Since there are vendors on the pavements, the pedestrians have to walk on the roads. In fact, this can be seen even within the Central Business District limits, where one can see double parking on Church Street," he says.
He avoids using a four-wheeler in such areas and prefers to drive a two-wheeler. "The traffic authorities need to be on a constant watch and be stringent with rules to deter the offenders," he says.
While parking on pavements is a regular sight, illegal parking is a greater menace. Anju Maudgal Kadam, a media consultant, says that while the number of vehicles are increasing by the day, there is a lack of parking spaces. "Just increasing the amount of fines will not work. There has to be proper implementation of the system with a strict team to monitor the roads," she says. Infrastructure is a huge problem in the city and long-term solutions, like better parking spots, need to be encouraged, adds Anju.
"The roads in the city aren't wide enough and when you add two rows of parked vehicles on the same side to this, there is utter chaos," says Suvin Narayan, an assistant executive officer. Regular perpetrators are cab drivers and even autorickshaw drivers, though they might only intend to stop temporarily.
"This leads to traffic jams. On roads like the 80 Feet Road, buses or larger vehicles won't be able to pass by in such situations. Parking should be curbed on smaller roads. There also needs to be a proper even and odd parking system, so that parking is organised," Suvin adds.
Abhilash R, a data analyst, agrees that the dearth of proper and organised parking spaces leads to illegal parking. "One cannot just blame motorists for this. It is out of desperation that most motorists do this. Imagine wanting to pick up something quickly at a shop and having to search for a spot to park, somewhere quite far away from the shop. Multi-level parking options should come up at commercial hubs like Commercial Streets, where searching for a parking spot itself can take a big part of the day," says Abhilash.
Suresh Kumar, deputy chief traffic warden, divisional incharge (east), says that illegal parking can be seen on many of Bengaluru's jam-packed and busy streets. "Two rows of parked vehicles can be seen even at the busiest roads like MG Road, in Jayanagar Market area, St Mark's Road, Lavelle Road, Mosque Road and Commercial Street," he says.
A fine of Rs 100 is levied for illegal parking and towing charges of Rs 1,000 are charged on a four-wheeler vehicle and Rs 600 on a two-wheeler vehicle, says R Hitendra, additional commissioner of police (traffic). "We are concentrating on four-wheelers at the moment as two-wheelers do not obstruct traffic as much. We are keeping a strict watch on the number of vehicles towed, which has gone up to 200 cars per day. This is compared to around 10 to 12 per day earlier," he says. Hitendra adds that business establishments encourage this kind of parking and thus strict penalty is the only way out.
In a city like Bengaluru, where the number of vehicles is increasing in leaps and bounds with every passing day, parking has become a challenge. Vehicles can be seen parked on the pavements, in a haphazard manner in marked spaces and even beside other parked vehicles.Illegal parking, where vehicles are parked alongside another line of vehicles, is a traffic offence observed across the city. Despite the Traffic Police trying to create awareness through campaigns, motorists in the city seem to be oblivious to the difficulties this creates. Darshan Nair, a team lead (technical writing), says that in Malleswaram 8th Cross, many parked vehicles occupy almost half of the road and block traffic. "Since there are vendors on the pavements, the pedestrians have to walk on the roads. In fact, this can be seen even within the Central Business District limits, where one can see double parking on Church Street,” he says.
He avoids using a four-wheeler in such areas and prefers to drive a two-wheeler. "The traffic authorities need to be on a constant watch and be stringent with rules to deter the offenders,” he says.
While parking on pavements is a regular sight, illegal parking is a greater menace. Anju Maudgal Kadam, a media consultant, says that while the number of vehicles are increasing by the day, there is a lack of parking spaces. "Just increasing the amount of fines will not work. There has to be proper implementation of the system with a strict team to monitor the roads,” she says. Infrastructure is a huge problem in the city and long-term solutions, like better parking spots, need to be encouraged, adds Anju.
"The roads in the city aren’t wide enough and when you add two rows of parked vehicles on the same side to this, there is utter chaos,” says Suvin Narayan, an assistant executive officer. Regular perpetrators are cab drivers and even autorickshaw drivers, though they might only intend to stop temporarily.
"This leads to traffic jams. On roads like the 80 Feet Road, buses or larger vehicles won’t be able to pass by in such situations. Parking should be curbed on smaller roads. There also needs to be a proper even and odd parking system, so that parking is organised,” Suvin adds.
Abhilash R, a data analyst, agrees that the dearth of proper and organised parking spaces leads to illegal parking. "One cannot just blame motorists for this. It is out of desperation that most motorists do this. Imagine wanting to pick up something quickly at a shop and having to search for a spot to park, somewhere quite far away from the shop. Multi-level parking options should come up at commercial hubs like Commercial Streets, where searching for a parking spot itself can take a big part of the day,” says Abhilash.
Suresh Kumar, deputy chief traffic warden, divisional incharge (east), says that illegal parking can be seen on many of Bengaluru’s jam-packed and busy streets. "Two rows of parked vehicles can be seen even at the busiest roads like MG Road, in Jayanagar Market area, St Mark’s Road, Lavelle Road, Mosque Road and Commercial Street,” he says.
A fine of Rs 100 is levied for illegal parking and towing charges of Rs 1,000 are charged on a four-wheeler vehicle and Rs 600 on a two-wheeler vehicle, says R Hitendra, additional commissioner of police (traffic). "We are concentrating on four-wheelers at the moment as two-wheelers do not obstruct traffic as much. We are keeping a strict watch on the number of vehicles towed, which has gone up to 200 cars per day. This is compared to around 10 to 12 per day earlier,” he says. Hitendra adds that business establishments encourage this kind of parking and thus strict penalty is the only way out.