TIRUCHI: In recent years, Tiruchi city has witnessed a considerable development in its infrastructure facilities particularly roads whether National Highways, State Highways or Corporation roads.
The conversion of Tiruchi-Chennai National Highway into a four-lane road, and expansion and widening of major thoroughfares in the city by the Corporation are a gift to road-users. Incidentally, the development and expansion took place almost simultaneously in the last two to three years. The Thillai Nagar main road, Collector office road, Williams road, Bharathiar road, Salai road, Sastri road, and Madurai road were developed and strengthened over the last few years . This has ensured free flow of traffic to a major extent.
However, the presence of automobile workshops, shops selling decorative stickers for four-wheelers and more importantly, haphazard parking on both sides of the road by omnibuses in the busy roads continues to create traffic bottlenecks much to the chagrin of road-users enforcement agencies and traffic authorities.
Consumer activists say that the stretch from State Express Transport Corporation bus stand to R.C.School junction becomes a convenient spot for drivers to park lorries, vans and omnibuses on either side of the Mcdonalds road. This has almost become a daily phenomenon causing serious inconvenience to pedestrians.
The problem on Bharathidasan road, especially the stretch between Mutharaiyar statue junction to cantonment police station is the parking of cars, auto rickshaws and other vehicles during peak hours in the mornings and evenings causing extreme hardship to the other vehicle- users. The cars are parked haphazardly blocking free flow of traffic, consumer activists say.
Collector Office road, which sports a new look, has also not been spared. Omnibuses, parcel lorries are parked in front of the Raja Colony in a row. At Periamilaguparai area, heavy vehicles are found parked on the left side of the road, waiting to be repaired at workshops located on the right side of the road. The trouble is palpable even at the entrance of KAP Viswanatham Government Medical College. Birds road – a narrow stretch – accounts for a row of automobile workshops, and lot of three and four-wheelers are seen parked here, causing traffic bottleneck.
Schools, central government offices, cinema halls, residential apartments are situated on the Williams road. Four wheelers are found parked throughout the day in front of the car accessories stores, and sticker shops situated on the road.
Notwithstanding the removal of encroachments, haphazard parking of vehicles along the city roads persists, calling for greater attention on the part of the enforcement authorities in ensuring better traffic management, say city residents in unison. The parking of vehicles along these stretches shrinks the road space, causing traffic hold up and makes the zone accident- prone.
With the number of light, medium and heavy vehicles increasing day by day, long time residents of the city feel that the authorities concerned should earmark specific areas for parking of omnibuses, lorries, and other light vehicles. Given the burgeoning vehicle population, it is high time that steps should be taken for the construction of an integrated bus stand with immediate effect, with a separate area earmarked for parking omnibuses.
According to C.Balasubramanian, president, district Exnora, the operators of tourist cars, contract buses, omnibuses should be directed to park their vehicles in their own premises to ensure that the common man has a safe drive.
