Deepavali shopping exposes Erode’s inadequate road, parking infrastructure

With a day left for Deepavali, traffic congestion crippled several arterial roads in the city on Thursday and Friday (November 6) evening as shoppers from across the district converged on the city for festival purchases.

The city’s road network and inadequate parking infrastructure struggled to cope with the influx of vehicles, bringing traffic movement to a crawl from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.

R.K.V. Road, Meenatchi Sundaranar Road, Mettur Road, Nethaji Road, Manikoondu, Thiruvenkatasamy Street, Gandhiji Road, Perundurai Road and Sathy Road, which have several textile and jewellery showrooms and commercial establishments, witnessed a heavy influx of shoppers purchasing clothes, sweets and other essentials.

Panneerselvam Junction, the Government Hospital roundabout, Mettur Road and other arterial stretches were also choked, with vehicle movement coming to a standstill at several points. The congestion delayed town bus services, inconveniencing passengers.

Road users said congestion at one major junction often had a cascading effect on traffic movement across the city, bringing vehicles to a standstill on connecting roads. The lack of alternative routes and effective traffic regulation made it difficult to clear bottlenecks once congestion set in.

Inadequate parking facilities, encroachments and haphazard parking further aggravated the situation. Parking facilities are limited even on R.K.V. Road, while most other shopping streets lack designated parking spaces.

Several commercial establishments do not provide adequate parking for customers, forcing them to leave their two-wheelers and cars along roads and narrowing the carriageways. “People from all parts of the district converge on the city for festival shopping. But where are the parking facilities to accommodate their vehicles” questioned a shopper.

“Multi-level parking facilities should have been created at several locations across the city,” said P. Kannan, a motorist. He said motorists were forced to park their vehicles along roads, adding to the congestion.

Despite the city’s growing commercial activity and expanding urban limits, the Corporation has no plans to establish multi-level parking facilities. Road users said long-term infrastructure planning was essential to accommodate the increasing number of vehicles instead of relying on temporary traffic arrangements during festival seasons.

Pedestrian safety was another casualty. Footpaths were occupied by temporary vendors and permanent commercial establishments, forcing pedestrians to walk on busy carriageways. Even the pathways developed under the smart road projects remained encroached upon. “The pedestrian pathways on the smart roads have been completely encroached upon, leaving little space for pedestrians,” said a road user on State Bank Road who did not wish to be named.

Road users called for additional police personnel along busy shopping streets, besides key junctions, to regulate traffic and prevent indiscriminate parking. They also sought the removal of footpath encroachments and a comprehensive traffic and parking plan to address the city’s growing vehicular population.