Bengaluru: Want to park your car in Cubbon Park? It’s not so easy as it seems though the park has four major parking lots. Parking problems are just increasing day by day with the situation worsening during peak hours especially at the entry points to the park.
The entrance to Cubbon Park on Ambedkar Veedhi and the one near Balbhavan are choked with people waiting for a parking slot on the roadside. Many of the car occupants prefer to go into the park leaving a driver behind than waste time and such vehicles are parked along the road creating traffic congestion.
Mr M.A. Saleem, Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) said that the horticulture department has provided four parking lots, but due to increase in vehicles, parking has become an issue.
“The traffic police have banned parking inside Cubbon Park at many points, hence parking place is now restricted,” he said. Mr Vinay Sreenivasa, member of Hasiru Usiru demanded that parking on some stretches in Cubbon Park must be completely banned.
“Let the police ban parking inside Cubbon Park. Unless parking is not banned, programmes like Traffic Free Sunday will not help in ensuring pollution free Cubbon Park. Bengaluru’s air quality is diminishing as per recent research on air quality. The increase in vehicles inside Cubbon Park must be regulated,” he suggested.
Transport experts blame it on the shortage of multi-level parking facilities around the Vidhana Soudha area. “Moreover with a large number of government offices and important tourism destinations in the vicinity, Cubbon Park is much sought after for parking space. The horticulture department must hike the parking tariff so that parking can be discouraged in the park. Even when traffic is banned inside Cubbon Park on Sundays, two major stretches along Balbhavan are allowed for car parking. As Cubbon road will be reopened for traffic soon, the government can ban vehicle movement inside the park,” said an urban transport expert.
