Motorists taking the Buckingham Canal Bank Road have appealed to the Chennai Traffic Police to remove an unauthorised parking slot on the stretch.
Despite the traffic police placing a warning board asking people not to park on the stretch up to 50 metres, people continue to do so.
Motorists coming from Alamelumangapuram, Mylapore, MRTS station, South Canal Bank Road, East Abhiramapuram, Dr. Ranga Road, Abhiramapuram, Subburayan Road, and Justice Sundaram Road, find it difficult to use the stretch.
The illegal parking hinders not only the free movement of vehicles, but also affects pedestrians as the pavement on the western side of the thoroughfare is encroached upon by auto-rickshaw workshops.
The pedestrians have no space to walk. They have to walk on the road or squeeze in through the vehicles, even to cross the road. They face the risk of being hit by vehicles.
On an average, there are around three to four vehicles parked on both sides at any given time. “During rush hour, the wide road becomes congested resulting in traffic jams. The stretch has shrunk due to illegal parking and encroachments. No two vehicles can pass simultaneously. Traffic congestion has become the order of day on the stretch,” says Rajan Dr. E. Murali, a resident of Abhiramapuram.
As it provides easy connectivity to Mandaivelli through Alamelumangapuram and Abhiramapuram, thousands of vehicles pass through the stretch daily. Vehicles are often seen parked up to the intersections of Buckingham Canal Bank Road and South Canal Bank Road, East Abhiramapuram, and Canal Bank Road.
“The blockage starts in the morning and goes on till night,” says V. V. Ramani, a resident of Abhiramapuram. I have made several complains to the traffic police personnel to clear the encroachments, but no action has been taken so far.
“The traffic police personnel deployed near the junction of Venkatesa Agraharam Street and Alamelumangapuram, remain a mute spectator to the chaos. They do not even step in to regulate the vehicular traffic,” he says.
When contacted, the Chennai Traffic Police officials said it was illegal to park the vehicles on the road. “We have been asking people not to park their vehicles on the road as it leads to congestion. We have also been towing cars and other vehicles. But people continue to park their vehicles. Regarding encroachments on the pavements, the civic body should take corrective steps.”
