Markings on road, RWAs key to fixing Gurugram’s parking woes: ACP (Traffic)

At an HT dialogue, traffic officials urged demarcated parking lines on sector roads and called on RWAs to enforce proper parking discipline.

Traffic police officials on Saturday advocated the use of road markings and demarcated parking spaces outside housing societies to address persistent parking problems in Gurugram, during the Hindustan Times’ Gurugram First dialogue.

Officials cited a successful Hisar pilot and warned against the “two-minute parking” excuse that clogs arterial roads during peak hours. (Parveen Kumar/HT)

Assistant commissioner of police (traffic and highways) Satyapal Yadav said that clear parking lines need to be demarcated on main roads in sector areas so that residents and visitors park vehicles in designated spaces instead of clogging roads. “If the markings are aligned along the roads and residents follow them in full spirit, we can solve the traffic congestion outside the residences to a great extent,” Yadav said.

He added that the “two-minute” culture often cited by motorists as an excuse for wrongful parking should be discouraged. Yadav said resident welfare associations need to take proactive steps to ensure that residents follow traffic norms by parking vehicles properly along roads.

Referring to his previous posting in Hisar district, Yadav said the traffic police had implemented a similar initiative by delineating a parking line on Court Road, which had earlier faced severe congestion. “Based on our successful experiment, the illegal parking problem was resolved,” he said. He added that similar measures had been tried in Gurugram earlier, but rapid urban development and a sharp rise in the number of vehicles resulted in poor compliance by commuters.

Traffic expert Girish Gupta suggested that resident welfare associations should initiate a “name and shame” exercise by sharing photographs of residents who park carelessly on roads within internal society groups. “Habitual offenders must be made aware that a civic sense is crucial in smooth traffic flow in the city, especially outside residential areas and in adjoining markets,” Gupta said.

Yadav said residents must share responsibility with traffic police to prevent illegal or zigzag parking, particularly during early morning and evening peak hours when most office workers’ commute. “Disputions during the peak hours due to poor parking practises need to be avoided, as many of the arterial roads are connected to the residences, further causing snarls,” he said.