With new pavements being laid on Luz Church Road, pedestrians should be able to walk freely. But the full benefit of this measure cannot be enjoyed, thanks to haphazard parking of vehicles.
As the stretch has many shops that draw many buyers, vehicles are parked there. The point is: these vehicles are found on the pavements too. The problem is especially acute during the evening hours. A lot of people visiting shops and eateries park their vehicles on the road leaving little space for other vehicles to move. As it is a bus route, this stretch is heavily congested even without these parked vehicles contributing to the problem.
“Parking is one of the stubborn and difficult issues faced by Myalpore. On Luz Church Road, vehicles not only occupy the road margin but also the pavements,” says Loganathan, a resident.
Ranjana, a regular visitor to a shop on the stretch, says the commercial establishments should make arrangements for parking.
“Most of the shops don’t have dedicated parking lots, which forces visitors to park their vehicles on the road and pavements.”
Autos and share-autos aggravate the situation.
“Share-autos will drop and pick up people in the middle of the road. As a result, traffic often comes to a halt for a few seconds,” says another resident.
M. Aswathy Dilip, senior associate, Institute of Transportation and Development Policy, which has designed the smart pavement for Luz Church Road, says, “On-street parking is part of the new design for the stretch. We can not do away with it. Also, vendors would be given designated spots to operate from. We don’t want to change the character of the area. The problem today is that road space is being ineffectively used. Our idea is to streamline the traffic lane while incorporating all the elements in it. Once this is done, traffic flow will become smoother.”
