Watch-and-ward residents to deal with parking woes
Irla residents step out into the streets to prevent people from parking in no parking zones ……..GEETA DESAI
Fed up of shoppers parking their cars in no-parking zones at Irla, Andheri and tired of assurances from the traffic department about taking offenders to task, residents of the area have resorted to stepping out into the streets to curb the menace. Having conducted a successful pilot drive last week, from Monday onwards, they are going to be on watch-and-ward duty to keep track of offenders.
Indira Chajjerh, who is an activist and member of the Pedestrian Movement said, We will not allow cars to be parked in the nonparking zone. Erratic parking in the market area has resulted in tremendous traffic congestion. It takes even BEST buses several minutes to pass through. Autorickshaws refuse to come to this area because of the traffic jams here. But now weve had enough. We want to do something so that we can set an example for other areas. We will fight tooth and nail with the traffic authorities and force them to take action against offenders, said Chajjerh.
We have been trying to make people understand that this is no parking zone and there is hardly any space for us to walk even on the footpath. There are traffic jams throughout the day, she added.
To make matters worse, hawkers, eateries, illegal encroachments and extensions and STD booths have cropped up on the footpath leaving little room for pedestrians. Irla resident Ida Karvalo complains, People who come for shopping here park their cars right under the no parking sign. But traffic authorities never take any action against them.
Sheila Soans, another resident of the area said, Senior citizens are scared of walking on the road. There is no room for pedestrians on the footpaths and they are forced to walk on the road.
Residents are planning to get together on Monday evening to keep a check on parking offenders during the peak hour. They also plan to fence the footpath to prevent cars from being parked there. Besides, they will also put up posters and banners regarding their campaign against faulty parking.
While theyve decided to take a concrete step to find a solution to this problem, residents have got some help from the local K/W ward office in their clean-up drive and keeping illegal hawkers at bay.
Traffic authorities claim they have been regularly taking action against errant drivers. We fine 30-35 people every day for parking in the no parking zone, said Ghanshyam Doiphode, senior police inspector (traffic), said. He added, Irla is a market area. People from all over Mumbai come here to shop. There are few parking zones here. The situations really bad. We tow at least five to six cars every day, but still people simply dont understand that they shouldnt park in no parking zones, Doiphode added.
Shoppers park their cars in no parking zones adding to the existing problems of traffic congestion and lack of space for pedestrians
Indira Chajjerh, Irla resident