Kerala - Kochi   

Positive response to no-parking system at Broadway

KOCHI: The City Traffic Police have got a chance to streamline the parking issues in the city at Broadway, it seems.

The top rank of the City Police are waiting for the positive response to come in from the month-long Broadway shopping festival, during which parking has been banned inside Broadway. Alternative parking arrangement has been made at the Marine Ground area owned by the Greater Cochin Development Authority.

“Basically, we were mooting the concept of ‘no parking, no travel’ inside the Broadway. The crowd was keeping away from the area because of the lack of parking space. In the next phase, we are planning to convert the area to a pedestrian-friendly zone,” said Manoj Abraham, City Police Commissioner.

Disorderly parking of vehicles along the arterial roads had always been the main reason for continuing traffic snarls. Even though the concept of exclusive parking zones was keenly discussed among authorities, be it the corporation, the traffic police or the Road Transport Organisation, nothing concrete was done till now. A joint team including top officials from all departments concerned was formed a couple of years back to identify free spaces for parking. Even though places like Manappattiparambu and compound of Ambedkar Stadium were identified, no follow-up action was made on implementing it. The merchants had protested against the move to stop parking along main roads when it was mooted by the police in 2005. Now, the Kerala Merchants’ Union is joining hands with the City Police to try out an experiment on banning parking inside the Broadway. The ‘no parking’ system is being implemented after merchants found business dwindling due to haphazard parking.

“The response has been good during the first two days. To begin with, the ban on parking inside Broadway has given more visibility for shops. We expect the shops to register more sales in days to come,” said K.M. Mohammed Sageer, general secretary of the Union.

Success of the Broadway experiment will provide the police enough latitude to extend it to main roads like M.G. Road and Banerji Road.

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