Have a parking spot in mind? Holler for CCTP

CHENNAI:  So you've tried parking in the space between your office complex and that restaurant that nobody eats at and you've failed? However, you continue to believe that it can make a good parking spot. Don't lose heart, just give the Chennai City Traffic Police (CCTP) a call. As part of their World Parking Day initiative, CCTP is inviting suggestions from the public, especially Residents Welfare Associations, to provide solutions and suggestions to help them combat parking issues. And if you're too busy to call them, leave a wall post on their Facebook page or snail mail.In 2005, when a parking lot in San Francisco was converted into a community park for the sake of having more open spaces, they began celebrating the day as World Parking Day. A hundred and eighty cities in 30 countries followed suit, each adapting the day to suit their communities. In Chennai, celebrating the day yesterday, the CCTP put the spotlight on better parking management. Apart from putting up white banners across the city which provided the public with traffic guidelines, public outreach programmes were also conducted. Studies and an analysis to gauge traffic-related problems and parking changes will also be done on an experimental basis to come up with alternate workable solutions. “Areas between two trees can also be used for parking, so we are going to study these areas and mark more such parking spots,” said Sanjay Arora, Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic). The study will also focus on the financial and logistical aspects of parking management in key areas of the city. And quite obviously, CCTP will also take action against vehicles parked in no parking zones and footpaths. “We are looking to provide a better urban habitat to the public by utilising the available parking space, since there is a serious crunch in parking in Chennai,” he said and added, “We are not looking to increase the space available for parking.” Suggestions can be emailed to [email protected], posted on the CCTP Facebook page or sent across to the CCTP Headquarters.