To ease jams at Delhi markets, ‘right-left’ parking piloted

Delhi traffic: Experts were sceptical, raising concerns over the difficulty of implementing a complicated initiative such as “right-left parking”.

In an unconventional bid to untangle the chronic traffic gridlock plaguing Delhi’s narrow market roads, Delhi’s traffic police on Wednesday launched a pilot what they dubbed a “right-left parking” initiative in south Delhi’s Krishna Market in Kalkaji. The scheme, which alternates permitted parking between one side of the road and the other on successive days, aims to replace the chaotic free-for-all that typically clogs these vital commercial arteries.

Delhi Traffic Police began a trial run of the initiative at Kalkaji’s Krishna Market on Wednesday. (Hemani Bhandari/ HT)

Experts, however, were sceptical, raising concerns over the difficulty of implementing such a complicated initiative.

Explaining the plan, additional commissioner of police (Traffic) Dinesh Kumar Gupta said, cars will be allowed to park on the left side one day, and on the right side the next day. “Currently, cars are parked on both sides of the road leading to chaos for those coming in and going out. However, if we park cars on one side of the road, traffic will ease for both sides as it will give more space for traffic flow,” he said.

Once the project is finalised, officials said they will create a “fixed schedule” of parking restrictions, putting up signboards and markings for commuters at the markets. Traffic officials and the 1,200 Delhi Transport Corporation personnel available to them will also be deployed across markets to ensure the rules are being followed.

On Wednesday, traffic police tested it out at Kalkaji’s Krishna Market where the main lane is narrow and lined by shops on both sides. Parking on both sides of the road, including by shopkeepers and residents who live behind the shops, restricts free movement, making even short trips a nightmare for market goers.

When HT visited the market, 12 traffic police officials were deployed on the two-kilometre long stretch and three senior officers, including an inspector, were also present to supervise the impact. Parking was restricted to the right side of the road. While officials communicated the restrictions to the commuters on Wednesday, a senior traffic police officersaid signboards and markings will be added on Thursday.

Officials said they were able to execute the plan without any issues and it appeared to be working, with traffic flowing smoothly.

The project will continue for at least a week to 10 days after which an impact report will be formulated to get final approvals. There is no timeline as yet on when the initiative will be implemented, officials said.

If successful, traffic officials aware of the development said, this will be implemented in markets across the Capital, said a senior traffic police officer. While officials are still compiling a list of such markets, the names of smaller markets in Laxmi Nagar, the main Ashok Vihar market, and the side market near Sarojini, which adds to the main market’s traffic, were floated, officials aware of the matter said.

A senior traffic police officer said that, initially, the idea was to restrict parking to one side of the road. However, at two meetings held with stakeholders in Krishna Market this week and last week, there was pushback from shopkeepers and the Resident Welfare Association.

“They said that they should be able to park on their side of the road as well. For cooperation from them and peace in the area, we decided on alternate parking on alternate days. We anticipate that the same thing will happen in most markets,” he said.

Kalkaji locals also questioned how this would be effective if the number of cars remained the same. “We told them that the cars will be parked diagonally and not horizontally which will make more space. Also, auto-rickshaws and e-rickshaws will be regulated by traffic police officials,” the officer said.

Central Road Research Institute (CRRI) chief scientist Dr S Velumurugan, however, said, “The success of this initiative heavily depends on the demarcations, markings and sign boards.” He noted that there weren’t any during the Wednesday test at Krishna Market. “There also needs to be clearly demarcated lines for parking and incoming and outgoing traffic.”

Velumurugan also said that, given how many people in the Capital flout traffic rules, police will have to penalise people for them to take this seriously. “Police will have to strictly penalise people for improper parking for them to start taking this seriously and for this to work,” he said.