Among the numerous ‘freedoms’ that we enjoy in our ‘Smart Cities’ (and others on way to becoming ‘Smart’) is the complete freedom to park your vehicle here, there or anywhere, depending on the road situation, empty spaces discoveredtherein &as much as city’s horrendous traffic allows navigation.Old, law abiding citizens like us have stopped driving, we aren’t smart enough to find right place to park the ‘gadi’ !
On the roads where myriad types ofvehicles fly pastat breakneckspeed, a‘cat and mouse’ game ensueswith energetic Municipal Authorities showing muscle in making announcements and towing away a few vehicles wrongly parked. Like a drop in the ocean of 2/3/4 wheelers on road,professional driversare equipped with in-depth knowledgeof the areas not at risk or where the strong arm of law never visits to check. In Mumbai for instance, there are innumerable traffic signals (to curb congestion) and elaborate displays of‘no parking’ signs, one-way street rules, bus stops marked with shadesetc.That doesn’t deter the ‘park-ers’, given half a chance to slip in their vehicle.
My researchshowsthe favourite place parking of cars is right in front of yourgate ! Since our house in hometown Lucknow is on the main road, recently wefound a long tempo trailer parked stolidly blocking our gate, leaving little space to enter. The tempo was empty and no driver to protest against. After about four hours the vehicle had mysteriously moved on. Next day the same ‘gadi’ was parked but this time till late in the evening. No one in our area could tell who the owner was, but we saw a Mob No. with name painted on it. A polite phone request was made and it finally went away !
The ’parking’ woes affect everyone and it doesn’t need knowhow of rocket science to assess the reasons which effectivity are parking space scarcity& not enough spaces & teeming number of vehicles that lead to drivers wasting time and getting frustrated.Cars parked haphazardly can take up space on roads and sidewalks, which can lead to traffic congestion. Vehicles idling while searching for parking can contribute to air pollution. Parked vehicles can encroach on walkways, forcing pedestrians onto roads, compromising the safety. Congested streets deter customers from local businesses. In some societies, residents with multiple vehicles may occupy more parking spaces than other residents with one vehicle. Town planners, Authorities must be aware of all this.
Let’s give credit where its due, in many cities extensive underground parking facilities have been created. With incessantly growing vehicles on road, more needs to be done in terms of smart parking solutions that should include quickly implementing parking management systems to optimize parking space usage. As citizens too we must realise we all need space. Faulty parking causes inconvenience to others & leads to acrimony.
Working on Living 