Bengaluru: While pedestrians walk on footpaths and some fitness enthusiasts use it for morning jog, they are all upset that at many places they are forced to use the road and risk their lives due to vehicles parked on the footpath.
They claim the problem is more prevalent in CBD areas (central business district), where people park their cars on the footpath and they have to face the heavy traffic.
But now they have to contend with a new menace the cycles parked on footpath, run by the newly launched app based bicycle hiring platform PEDL.
Though PEDL cycles have gained popularity as it is affordable and user friendly, pedestrians complain they remain on the footpath all through the day, and cause inconvenience to them.
“Footpath parking has become a problem for me because I like to take my son for walks every day. It is also a problem for hundreds of senior citizens who use walking sticks. The cars parked on footpath occupy only a part of it, but these cycles completely block the way,” said Farheen, a resident of Kormangala.
As PEDL comes without any security deposit and is priced at just 10 per hour, it has many takers. User can visit their nearest location and use the cycle after making online payment.
“It is a new trend in the city to use rented cycles and move around the city. It also provides health benefits of cycling to your destination, but the local government should provide a separate place for them to park. Police need to act against these violations because in the CBD area it is very difficult for the people to walk on the road, as there is heavy traffic,” Sandeep, an employee of a M.G. Road based company, told Deccan Chronicle.
The citizens want action to take because these cycles are parked in most parts of the city and the police often turn a blind eye.
A case in point was the road near Kormangala, Indiranagar and M.G. Road, where cycles are parked through the day.
Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) R. Hithendra told Deccan Chronicle, "They need to find a separate place to park their cycles. If people find any difficulty to walk on footpaths because of these parked cycles, they can easily approach traffic cop nearby. Even I will ask our traffic police to take action."
