The increase in the number of vehicles in the city is the main reason for the increase in the number of reported cases concerning illegal parking in the city says traffic police.
Data from the Traffic police shows that the number of cases registered for traffic violations has increased in recent times. In the year 2022, a total of 12,07,651 cases were reported which was a 65 percent increase when compared to the previous year. Citizens say that there are no proper parking spaces in the city which has made them park on the side of roads.
Swetha, a resident of BTM Layout, said that she has changed cars and no longer goes to any place that does not have parking.
“The main problem is for four-wheelers so you will have to find places which have parking space or you have to park in a different space and walk a lot of distance,” added Swetha.
Traffic police state that the main reasons for the increase in violations are not just a lack of facilities but also the increase in the number of vehicles in the city. Anilkumar P. Grampurohit, a Traffic Police inspector, said that there are over 1 crore vehicles in the city.
The police make use of automated cameras to find the people who wrongly park their vehicles. In places where there are no cameras, traffic police report the violations using an app called Digital Field Traffic Violation Report (FTVR). In addition to this, the Bengaluru Traffic Police also make use of the help of the public to catch the violators. The public can use an app called Public Eye to report parking violations.
Once the violators are found a fine of Rs. 1000 under Section 133 of the Motor Vehicle Act is imposed on the people who park wrongfully.
Anilkumar P. Grampurohit said “The traffic police stations have been issued with wheel clamps which they use for clamping the wheels of wrongly parked vehicles. Traffic police no longer tow the vehicles.”
Urban planners suggest that the only way to bring down the cases is to construct proper parking spaces for vehicles in the different parts of the city.
Vikram Bhat, an Urban Planner working at Urban Synthesis said “If multipurpose car parks are constructed away from the congestion areas or somewhere near the metro people can park their cars there and use public transportation.”
He added that these multipurpose car parks can be constructed even underground. Police officials said that the BBMP is currently working with the Urban Land Transport Department to come up with schemes for the construction of more parking spaces. Illegal parking of vehicles leads to the narrowing of already narrow roads which leads to worse traffic and even accidents.
