New parking rule in Puducherry takes motorists by surprise

Motorists were caught unawares on Mission Street as the Traffic Police enforced one-side parking without any notice to the public.

The east side of Mission Street was made into a no-parking zone and ‘no parking’ boards were installed in front of shops to prevent unauthorised parking of vehicles.

The one-side parking caused severe inconvenience to residents and commuters as vehicles coming to Mission Street grappled for parking space.

The Traffic police were seen announcing the changes over the microphone on Mission Street at around 5 p.m. A similar situation prevailed on the arterial Mahatma Gandhi Road after the Traffic police announced to implement one-side parking on the stretch from Chetty Street till Rangapillai Street. The east side of Mahatma Gandhi Road will be a no-parking zone.

While some form of traffic regulation on one of the busiest streets in the city is long overdue, the abrupt manner in which changes were brought about led to confusion during the peak evening hour. Motorists complained that the police had made the changes without notice, instead of easing traffic congestion in a smooth manner. Their other grouse was that the stretch on which parking was allowed was almost entirely taken up by vehicles of two-wheeler rental outlets.

“I was taken by surprise with the way the traffic police handled the situation. We regularly park our vehicles on this road. There should at least be a prior notice issued to give us time. The abrupt decision to declare the area, where we park our vehicles everyday, as a ‘no parking zone’ is undemocratic,” said a shopkeeper.

A senior police official said that the Department had decided to strictly enforce one-side parking on arterial roads including Mahatma Gandhi Road, Mission Street and Bussy Street to ease traffic congestion.

However, there was a traffic snarl on Jawaharlal Nehru Street with motorists parking their vehicles on the stretch.

The Department has decided to implement one-side parking in phases due to shortage of personnel. It will take a few days for motorists to get used to the changes, he said. In order to ease traffic flow on Bussy Street, the police have decided to implement one-side parking on the south side from Chinna Subburaya Pillai Street till Ambour Salai junction. The north side of Bussy Street will be a no-parking zone.

However within minutes of the police leaving Mission Street, a few vehicles could be seen parked on the prohibited stretch.

The traffic police, though hard-pressed for manpower, might need to delegate personnel on these stretched as has been done on J.N. Street, to ensure that parking rules are enforced. The police drive on Friday also seemed to focus only on freeing up one side of the thoroughfare of two-wheelers, as indiscriminate parking on the pedestrian pavements was spared of any action.