For thousands of vehicle users as well as pedestrians who pass through West Masi Street, the last few days have been nightmarish. While the stretch is already congested with a host of vehicles being double-parked on both sides, the road has been dug up and sloppily relaid on one side which has further added to the confusion.
“The road was dug up on the side for repairing drainage and drinking water lines a few weeks back. It has now been covered, but only patchwork has been done and since the work is uneven, many are unable to park their vehicles on the margins,” said L. Mari, a street vendor there.
Since the margin of the road has become uneven, two-wheelers, which are usually parked there, have now encroached upon the main road more than before.
Most of these vehicles belong to owners and workers of the numerous paint, hardware and pipe stores, which are located along the stretch. “Apart from two-wheelers which are parked in two parallel rows, small carrier vehicles and lorries, which pass through the street to unload goods, are forced to park in the middle of the road. There is hardly any space left for vehicle users and pedestrians to navigate the stretch,” said S. Meenakshi, a resident of one of the streets off the main road.
Parking lot needed
A motorist plying through the road said that the whole stretch needed to be relaid and a parking lot had to be assigned for two-wheelers.
“The rest of the road too has many spots where patchwork has been done. Unless parking is restricted or banned, traffic congestion will continue to plague road users,” he noted.
