Lack of Parking Space Chokes Ooty Roads
With increasing number of vehicles with each passing day, traffic congestion is a problem every city faces. However, the narrow road of the hill station Ooty that has a heavy inflow of tourists has made traffic congestion a major problem and an unbearable one.
Increase in vehicles: there is an estimated 60000 vehicles on the roads of the Nilgiris at present and one will invariably be faced with blaring horns or engines growling while walking through the roads.
Over 10000 tourist vehicles enter Ooty every day during the peak tourist season.
In 1906, a little more than 100 years ago, the entire district of Ooty had no more than 20 vehicles and driving or walking through these roads was a delight.
Challenges faced:
Director of Nilgiri Documentation Centre in Kotagiri, Mr. Dhramalingam Venugopal states that the administration of the Nilgiris has to put up with various challenges when it comes to streamlining traffic. They have also to keep in mind the risks of parking in a hilly area and prevent any sort of haphazard or illegal parking.
- The hilly terrain is to be blamed for the lack of availability of ample parking space in the hill station.
- People who buy vehicles don’t have space to park them and leave them on by lanes and roads causing congestion on the streets when additional vehicles pass through those streets.
- The tourist season sees an additional influx of vehicles that completely choke the narrow streets of the hill town adding to the chaos.
Probable Solutions:
Considering the fact that Ooty is a tourist destination, the authorities must find a way to provide parking facilities to ensure lesser congestion during the peak season. With the increase in the number of vehicles, it has also become difficult for pedestrians to walk in peace. Geetha Srinivasan, who is the President of Intach, Nilgiris Chapter laments that the rapid urbanisation faced by this small hill town is causing it to lose its charm.
The administration can try out certain implementation of rules to test for positive results.
- Pedestrianisation of few roads – making commercial areas pedestrian-only zones for at least two days a week.
- Enforcement of a paid parking system in certain areas on an hourly basis can be helpful in getting rid of erratic parking on roads – as per the suggestion of R Dhanpal, a resident of Ooty.
Source: The Times of India
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