With the burgeoning vehicle population posing a challenge to the traffic managers of the city, experts and residents are of the view that multi-storeyed and underground parking lots at select places is the need of the hour.
Not only there are no specific parking lots on the main thoroughfares in the city, even the existing ones run by City Corporation and railway authorities are not adequate to accommodate the ever increasing vehicle population. In highly commercial areas such as Main Guard Gate and Thillai Nagar, the demand for parking space far exceeds supply.
With plans for creating more open parking lots hamstrung by paucity of land, building integrated multi-storeyed complexes would be a viable solution. Such facility is more required at Chathiram bus stand, Main Guard Gate, Thillai Nagar, Tennur, Cantonment, and Woraiyur. Such a facility, besides reducing the congestion on the roads, will also provide safe passage for pedestrians, as many of the roadside pavements are being occupied for parking vehicles, as can be seen near the King Mutharaiyar statue. Though the problem is felt round the year, it gets aggravated during festival seasons, leaving the vehicle users in a quandary. Normally, the local residents avoid reaching the Rockfort area, the business hub of the city, by cars due to non-availability of parking lots.
Multi-storeyed parking lots at central bus stand and Tiruchi Railway Junction are being operated by corporation and railways respectively. Most of the times both these parking lots overflow with vehicles . The civic body should come forward to establish more underground and multi-storeyed parking lots , says A.Gunavathi, a consumer activist.
The Super Bazaar parking lot is the only spacious parking lot in the ever busy Singarathope. But it could hold only a limited number of cars and two-wheelers. The construction of multi-storeyed parking lot here will go a long way in solving the parking trouble. Similar parking lots on Fort Station road will help vehicle users have a hassle-free shopping.