Commuters leave their vehicles on the roadside, to avoid paying parking fees

That there are traffic jams in and round major markets of the national Capital is now old news for the locals. However, not many talk about what causes these jams in those busy commercial areas.

It is also interesting to see that the market associations have not objected to these illegal parkings as the shop owners  also park all their vehicles on the road side, even before the market opens. And customers prefer to park on the roads outside the shops as the charges are lower in comparison to the official parking.

These vehicles park for a short time but block the oncoming traffic as they enter and leave the illegal parking bays constantly. The attendants stand on the road and stop the traffic flow to facilitate that.

The problem is especially severe near big market places where people park their vehicles on the roadside. Regular commuters are left with no choice but to stop-look-and-go every few metres.

They say that complaints to the authorities go unanswered. Visitors park their cars and two-wheelers on the roadside and go shopping, and prefer to pay a ‘token’ parking fee of just Rs 10-20, seldom do they have to pay more even if they park for more than five hours. Usually they leave within an hour or so after shopping. It is this frequent ‘side-movement’ that then clogs the oncoming traffic.

For example an underground parking lot has been made by Delhi Municipal Corporation near Subhash Nagar Market, where about 600 vehicles can be parked. But more than 30 percent of the area remains vacant here. The reason behind this is parking charges. An employee working here told The Pioneer that the car parking fee is Rs 20 for every hour. The bike parking fee is Rs 10 per hour while the monthly pass costs Rs 2,000. But people living here or coming to the market always park their cars on the road, which makes it difficult for pedestrians, and other commuters.

This results in the parking lot incurring losses every month. Apart from this, the condition of market areas such as Kamla Market, Rani Bagh Market, Karol Bagh, Lajpat Nagar, Avantika Market, Tilak Nagar, Rajouri Garden, and Uttam Nagar is the same.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has made underground parking on Asaf Ali Road at Delhi Gate, where vehicles gather dust and dirt. The monthly fee here is less compared to other parking lots, however roadside parking is also the norm here too.