Illegal parking consumes Fergusson College Road’s smart footpath

The recently laid stretch of the smart footpath between Tukaram Paduka Chowk and Dnyaneshwar Paduka Chowk on Fergusson College (FC) Road has turned into a parking lot for hundreds of two-wheelers and four-wheelers.

The footpath’s walkway, designed as per the Urban Street Design Guidelines, 2016, has been occupied by the vehicles of those visiting banks, shops, offices and eateries in the area.

The pedestrians, left with no choice or space, have resorted to walking along the cycle track, while cyclists are being forced to either manoeuvre their way between the pedestrians or ride alongside the heavy traffic on Fergusson College Road. The situation is aggravated by the missing signboards on parts of the stretch.

Prakash Patel, a stationary shop owner, said, “People coming to the area have been using the new footpath as parking space, which is inconveniencing the pedestrians. We have even put up a ‘No Parking’ notice on the tree along the footpath, but motorists are not bothered.”

Patel added that earlier there was more space for parking, but with the new footpath that too has reduced considerably. “The police do not take action against two-wheelers parked on the footpath or install jammers on the fourwheelers. That has failed to deter people from parking here.”

The tactile paving along the inside-end of the footpath is also blocked by the parked vehicles. It poses as a threat to any visually-impaired person walking along the blocks.

A regular visitor to the IDBI branch along the stretch, requesting anonymity, said, “The customers coming to the bank are allowed to park here.” On being told that parking is not allowed on the footpath, he said, “The parking space has reduced so much in the area that people are forced to park on the footpath.”

Many two-wheeler riders are not only using the footpath as parking space but are also riding on the footpath and the cycle track to skip the traffic. Dynaneshwar Rode, of Deccan Fitness, said, “There are frequent jams on this stretch as work on the footpath development along the road is underway. At such times, two-wheeler riders are seen riding on the footpath and cycle track as well. All this has made it difficult for pedestrians to use the footpath.” He added that the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) must provide additional parking in the area to ensure that footpaths are not blocked by parked vehicles. “There are so many offices, shops and eateries in the area. Where will the visitors of these establishments park? Adequate parking provisions are a necessity in the area,” he said.

Bapu Shinde, the police inspector of Shivajinagar Traffic Division, said that the shortage of parking space coupled with lack of signages has led to confusion among motorists.

“Sufficient parking space should have been provided under the smart footpath plan. The parking space has reduced and incomplete work and missing signages are only confusing people. We have been taking regular action against two-wheelers and four-wheelers parked in ‘no parking’ zones or on the footpaths, but people continue to park there,” he said.

Shinde said he will raise the issue with the PMC authorities at the earliest, so that the work is completed. “We will recommend installation of boards along the stretch to them, which will streamline parking in the allotted areas. We will also ensure that the visitors to the upcoming mall along the stretch, park only on its premises, instead of the road, to ease problems faced by pedestrians and traffic movement in general,” he said.