With the beginning of the Onam week celebrations and the switching on of the city-wide illumination, the main road from Palayam to Vellayambalam has been experiencing heavy traffic in the evenings till late into the night. However, despite a major shortage in parking space in these areas, hardly anyone has been making use of the city Corporation's multi-level car parking lot, located within the main office compound near Palayam, which is now being kept open till late into the night.
The parking lot is being used during the daytime, mostly by Corporation officials and visitors to the Corporation office. However, much of the public still seems to be unaware of the facility and assume it to be meant only for visitors to the Corporation office. According to a Corporation official, this has prompted the civic body to put up display boards in several locations in the area asking the public to make use of the facility.
Temporary facilities
The Corporation's traffic advisory committee had in a meeting on August 29 decided to allow temporary parking facilities on the premises of government, semi-government and private institutions in the city area from September 5 to 13 to avoid traffic blocks. Most of these facilities are now open till late into the night. Due to the untimely rain during Onam, most of the people are venturing out with their cars to watch the illumination, leading to long traffic jams.
102 cars
Across seven floors, the multilevel parking lot located in the Corporation, constructed at a cost of ₹5.64 crore, can accommodate 102 cars at a time. The civic body is constructing similar parking lots in other locations, including the Putharikkandam maidan.
The traffic advisory committee will be holding a separate meeting to decide on increasing the number of traffic wardens in front of schools using funds from schools or through sponsorship.
