Coimbatore still awaits long promised parking policy

Coimbatore, Aug 16 (IANS) Every day, as vehicles spill onto footpaths and choke arterial roads, Coimbatore’s residents are reminded of a parking policy that was promised but never delivered.

Despite two years of planning, studies, and consultations, the initiative announced by the Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation (CCMC) and city police remains stalled, leaving the city’s traffic and pedestrian safety problems to worsen.

Back in 2022, hopes were high when the CCMC brought in the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP), a global non-profit specialising in sustainable mobility, to prepare a feasibility study for introducing a structured on-street parking system.

RS Puram and Race Course were chosen as pilot zones, with Coimbatore expected to follow Chennai in adopting a formal parking policy.

A major stakeholders’ workshop involving officials, police, experts, and social activists was held on November 18 that year, and a comprehensive report was readied for inclusion in the 2023 civic budget.

Since then, the plan has been shelved with no tangible progress and the absence of regulated parking has taken a heavy toll.

Two-wheelers and cars routinely occupy footpaths, forcing pedestrians into traffic and congestion on key stretches has worsened.

Social activist M.Rajendran said, “For years, we have been urging the corporation to mark proper parking spaces and enforce restrictions. Instead, inaction has only deepened the problem. Footpaths belong to people, not vehicles.”

Responding to criticism, CCMC Commissioner M. Sivaguru Prabakaran said that revival of the project has begun, with RS Puram identified for the first phase.

Nine streets there have been mapped for on-street parking, including designated paid-parking and no-parking stretches. The plan will also link with the Multi-Level Car Parking facility on DB Road.

According to the commissioner, ITDP’s ongoing study will calculate street capacity, segregation of cars and two-wheelers, peak-hour demands, and potential parking charges.

“Public resistance to paid parking is likely, but we will address those concerns before implementing the policy,” he noted.

Still, public skepticism lingers. An earlier paid-parking system on DB Road had to be withdrawn after strong protests, and sources admit the corporation is wary of pushing the project in the run-up to next year’s state Assembly elections.

With traffic snarls intensifying and pedestrian safety increasingly at risk, residents warn that further delay could turn Coimbatore’s parking challenge into a full-blown crisis. For the city, a decisive policy shift remains both overdue and urgent.

--IANS

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