A week after DNA carried a report on how illegal parking has plagued Tilak Nagar, the neighbourhood's residents, along with official authorities, have decided to regularise the area's parking situation, and to remove abandoned vehicles lying along the stretch.
Nitin Nikam, advocate and secretary of the Tilak Nagar Residents' Association, said they suggested one-lane parking and no parking on narrow roads. Meanwhile, the traffic police has also pasted notices on abandoned vehicles and said if the vehicles aren't moved in 15 days, action will be initiated.
All stakeholders, including the BMC, traffic police, residents' associations, hawkers' association and local representatives, attended a meeting this weekend where parking-related issues of the locality were discussed.
Sushama Sawant, Tilak Nagar corporator who was also present at the meeting, said that the meeting was necessitated as there are many issues in the area. "We discussed several issues, from illegal parking to hawkers' menace. There was positive response from the administration," said Sawant, adding that the hawkers' issue would also be sorted out soon.
Pramod Pawar, a social activist from Tilak Nagar, said that the area is stone's throw away from Lokmanya Tilak Terminus and the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway, making it a very sought after place. "Highrises were constructed and people bought homes by paying hefty amounts. But no one, not even the administration, paid heed to the need of adequate parking," said Pawar. He added that since buildings do not have adequate parking inside, residents have no choice but to park their vehicles on road.
P Chavan, assistant commissioner of M West ward, said that a major initiative would be taken up by the traffic department. "We will put up signboards across the ward after getting details from the traffic department," said Chavan.
Santosh Nikalje, an engineer with the building proposals department of the BMC, who was also part of the meeting, said the BMC will put up signage for traffic. "There will be no parking on roads less than six metres wide, and every alternate day, one side parking on 12-metre wide roads," said Nikalje, adding that BMC's licence department will ensure that no more hawkers in Tilak Nagar.
