Parking will not be allowed along six roads in the congested school zone off Threatre Road till 1pm, police officers said on Thursday.
The six roads are Loudon Street, Rawdon Street, Hungerford Street, Moira Street, Short Street and Robinson Street.
Cops on the ground have been preventing parking on these stretches till 1pm for the past two-and-a-half months to facilitate smooth movement of school-bound vehicles. “We will now formalise the arrangement,” said a senior officer.
“We started a trial by banning parking on these stretches till 1pm. We realised that additional road space on these thoroughfares during the morning rush hours helped in better management of traffic, especially school-bound cars and buses,” said a senior police officer.
“We have decided to continue with this and have written to the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) to take necessary measures.”
Close to 500 cars remain parked in the KMC-owned parking bays along the six thoroughfares. The police have written to the KMC to tell the companies or agencies managing the parking bays to not allow any parking there till 1pm.
The small pocket of Kolkata where the parking curb is being imposed has at least six schools — two La Martiniere schools, St Xavier’s, Loreto, Apeejay and Seventh Day Adventist.
Officers who manage traffic in the pockets said the curb was helping them ease congestion during rush hours and the effect was felt on a host of adjoining roads, too, such as Camac Street, AJC Bose Road, Syed Amir Ali Avenue and Park Street.
The curb, however, results in a rise in the number of cars parked on some other roads such as Lee Road, Woodburn Park Road and Allenby Road.
“We have observed that most of the shoppers turn up in this part of the city usually in afternoon. Besides, a good majority of senior students who leave school around 1.15pm opt for public transport,” an officer said.
“With parking lots remaining empty during the morning, parents coming to drop their children to school find it easier to stop their vehicles.”
The enforcement of parking restrictions till 1pm is preventing snarls on Park Street and Theatre Road during the morning rush hours, when the city witnesses a surge in traffic volume.
Earlier, the school zone would witness traffic congestions almost daily, forcing the police top brass to deploy additional officers.
Senior KMC officials said they had agreed to the police proposal and a formal notification would be issued soon.
“Three cooperative agencies manage the parking lots on these six roads. We will tweak their terms and conditions,” a KMC official said.
