The business nerve centre of the city goes by the name Broadway, though, in reality, it is getting narrower by the day, thanks to haphazard parking on the road winding down its heart.
And shop owners, under Broadway Shop Owners Association (BSOA), are up in arms against it.
Multiple lines of parking of two-wheelers along the left side of the road between CSI Church and Alappat Junction have effectively reduced the width of the road from eight metres to less than five metres. As a result, wading through Broadway has become a nightmare for shoppers.
According to the Regional Transport Authority, Broadway remains a no-parking zone. But it remains just on paper.
“The parking woes on Broadway can be addressed by setting up a multi-level facility in the Kerala Tourism Development Corporation space opposite the stretch. The State government should take initiative for this under the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB),” said Hibi Eden, MLA. Meanwhile, BSOA president P.A. Sageer attributed the troubles facing Broadway to unauthorised parking of two-wheelers by the staff of Penta Menaka shopping complex, which is sandwiched between Shanmugham Road and Broadway. “They park two-wheelers from morning to night, blocking the entrance to shops on one side of the road,” he said.
BSOA had submitted a representation to the Chief Minister in January this year, demanding that Broadway be made a no-parking zone.
It has so far submitted three representations to the Traffic West, seeking a solution to the parking issue. As a solution, N.R. Jayaraj, Circle Inspector, Traffic West, proposed a pay-and-park facility to representatives of the Kerala Merchant Chamber of Commerce (KMCC) and BSOA.
But there has been little progress on that, and BSOA has fallen back on its original demand for a no-park zone, though a section of traders are apprehensive over the impact of such a move on their businesses. But Mr. Sageer vouched that 90% of customers hit Broadway on foot. BSOA also laments that while the traffic police are slapping fines for unauthorised parking elsewhere in the city, they have turned a blind eye to parking on Broadway, which is in reality a no-parking zone.
