Parking of vehicles in narrow lanes of residential areas has been obstructing the free flow of traffic in Tiruchi, due to the lack of adequate parking space in houses and buildings.
Many residential areas in the city have narrow unplanned roads which are mostly just 20 to 30 feet wide, but they get even more narrow as they are encroached by residents causing inconvenience to commuters.
According to the city residents, traffic snarls in most of the residential areas including K.K Nagar, Crawford, Thillai Nagar, Karumandapam, Varaganeri and Srirangam are becoming a major problem during peak hours.
With the lack of adequate parking space, parking in front of the residences has become a norm. The majority of the apartments have set up designated parking spaces, but a few have hardly any space to accommodate a handful of vehicles. “There is a surge in the number of vehicles, and each household has at least a four-wheeler and two-wheeler,” said Ramkumar, a resident.
“On-street parking makes commuting during the peak hours a nightmare. A similar problem affects school buses as well, therefore we often ask the children to come to the street entrance,” said A. Rafi a school autorickshaw driver.
While it is required that residents leave 5 to 15 feet of space in front of their residences for the road, residents also encroach on the narrow streets by building ramps to their property, which are large, sloping concrete structures to allow entry of vehicles into the parking lot.
“Sometimes even the movement of two-wheelers on these roads becomes difficult when there is a ramp and vehicles are parked opposite it,” said S. Akilan, a city resident.
According to a senior official, “Several resident associations have reported the issue, and the civic authority will act against it sooner, to enable free flow of traffic,” he said.
