Frequent traffic snarls irk Deepavali shoppers
The Hindu
With no established parking lots but for a self-regulated parking lot in business areas, the shoppers prefer to park their vehicles at their will
Frequent traffic jams on busy roads and commercial streets of the city irk Deepavali shoppers.
With the festival less than two weeks away, these streets and busy main roads, including NSB Road, Nandikoil Street, Big Bazaar Street, Singarathope, Chinnakadai Street and West Boulevard Road, teem with thousands of shoppers. Thanks to the presence of many big-scale textile showrooms, Tiruchi attracts shoppers from other Ariyalur, Perambalur, Manapparai, Musiri, Thottiam and other places. While a section of people prefers to reach the shopping destinations by public transport, the rest come in cars and two-wheelers to the shopping streets.
With no established parking lots but for a self-regulated parking lot in business areas, the shoppers prefer to park their vehicles at their will. The impact of haphazard parking is clearly seen on roads and streets right from Madurai Road to Fort Station Road, College Road to West Boulevard Road, and Super Bazaar to Big Bazaar. Motorists tend to park even in front of the no-parking zones on many roads, thereby leading to shrinkage of carriage space. It eventually slows down movement of traffic.
The volume of traffic has been on a steady rise since the first week of October, thereby putting traffic police on their toes. The Main Guard Gate junction bears the brunt of traffic snarls. Most motorists invariably have to spend at least five minutes to get through their intended roads at Main Guard Gate. It often leads to the lining up of vehicles to a long distance on Madurai Road and Fort Station Road. Motorists undergo suffering due to frequent traffic jams on roads around Main Guard Gate.
Though there are policemen in several areas, they find it difficult to regulate the traffic. Motorists feel that the number of traffic policemen posted on business and busy roads and streets, is not commensurate with the huge volume of traffic and the Deepavali crowds.
“We cannot enter commercial areas as there is hardly any space. We do not have any public parking lots. Hence, I did not have any other option but to park my car on the roadside,” says M. Dharmar of Woraiyur, who had gone for shopping after parking his vehicle in a no parking zone in front of the Holy Cross College on Madurai Road recently.
The ongoing rain has also added to the woes. The situation could well turn acute in the next two weeks in view of the surge in crowd with every passing day. Crowd-regulation in the commercial hubs in the city in the coming days is set to get tougher.