When M.S. Vaidyanathan of Chromepet steps out of his house on New Colony First Main Road, the usual sight that greets him is a line of cars parked on his street. The cars do not belong to anyone living in the locality. Though residents have asked the car drivers to not park in the area, the problem persists.
“Drivers leave their cars parked for hours together. At times, cars belonging to strangers are in front of our houses for weeks,” Mr. Vaidyanathan said.
This problem is not specific to his area alone. Most residential areas in the city, including in Mylapore, T. Nagar, Purasawalkam, Adyar and Saidapet, are clogged due to unauthorised parking of vehicles, causing disturbance to residents apart from traffic congestion and promoting anti-social activities.
According to a senior traffic police officer, nearly 1,000 vehicles, both two-wheelers and four-wheelers, are towed away or get their wheels clamped for unauthorised parking every day. “Buses to transport college students and employees of private companies are also parked in residential areas. The drivers sleep in them and we ask them to park them elsewhere,” the officer said. Cars parked for a long time are towed away and owners take them back from the police stations after paying a fine,” the official added.
Some motorists welcome the police action too. A. Rajkumar recently was searching for a spot to park his motorcycle for a brief while on Padmanabha Nagar when he was stopped by a traffic policeman, who warned him that his motorcycle would be clamped. “There was a ‘No-Parking’ sign, but we usually park wherever we find space. It is good to see the police being vigilant,” he said.
Unauthorised parking is a city-wide issue, especially on main roads leading to commercial establishments. Traffic policemen on Anna Salai negotiate a wrecker in a jungle of parked vehicles near Ritchie Street. “We tow away at least 5 cars every day. We charge motorcycle owners Rs. 260 as ‘parking obstruction’ fine, while owners of clamped cars have to pay Rs. 200, and those of cars towed away need to pay Rs. 475,” he adds.
