Kolkata: Rampant on-road parking is choking Kolkata’s already strained road network, with transport officials warning that unchecked encroachment of carriageways is severely impacting mobility across the city. “In a city with extremely limited road space, parked vehicles are reducing usable carriageway and slowing down traffic,” said a transport department official.Kolkata has just 6% of its total area under roads, far lower than the 18%-23% seen in other Indian metros. Since the pandemic, the number of private vehicles has surged, and officials estimate that a large share of car owners lack dedicated garages and rely on roadside parking often because it is inexpensive or free. Bus operators say the situation has reached a breaking point. “Even on major corridors, buses struggle to move. It is difficult to manoeuvre large vehicles, especially during peak hours,” said Titu Saha, secretary, City Suburban Bus Service. “On-street parking is effectively dead weight. A ‘no-garage, no-car’ policy must be considered, along with multi-level and mechanical parking solutions,” said Dipankar Sinha, former DG (Town Planning).
