Cyberabad mulls paid parking on Knowledge City roads amid traffic, street racing concerns
Visitors with their vehicles parked illegally on the Cafe Niloufer–My Home Bhooja Road in Knowledge City in Hyderabad.
| Photo Credit: NAGARA GOPAL
Paid parking facilities could soon be introduced along some of Hyderabad’s busiest IT corridor roads as the Cyberabad police seek to tackle illegal parking, traffic congestion and recurring incidents of street racing and dangerous driving in and around Knowledge City, Raidurgam.The proposal comes amid mounting concerns over key arterial roads connecting major IT parks, office campuses, residential towers and commercial hubs, including the Durgam Cheruvu Cable Bridge corridor, which are increasingly being used for roadside parking, late-night gatherings and other activities, reducing carrying capacity and contributing to traffic bottlenecks and law-and-order concerns.The focus is on the Cafe Niloufer–My Home Bhooja Road in Knowledge City and the ITC Kohenur road in Madhapur, both of which attract thousands of visitors every day. On many evenings, long rows of cars and motorcycles can be seen parked on both sides of the nearly one-kilometre stretch from Cafe Niloufer to beyond T-Hub, leaving barely 1.5 to 2 lanes available for through traffic on roads designed to carry large volumes of vehicles.According to a senior Cyberabad police official, discussions are under way with IT companies and commercial establishments on these stretches to create designated paid parking spaces for motorists requiring short-term parking. A vacant parcel of land belonging to the Telangana Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TGIIC) has been identified as one of the locations for the proposed facility.Although many commercial establishments already provide cellar and underground parking, a significant number of visitors continue to leave their vehicles on roadsides, effectively turning carriageways into informal parking zones.“We are trying to create alternative parking facilities so that people who genuinely need to stop for a short duration have a designated space. At the same time, we will be stepping up active towing enforcement on these roads. Vehicles parked on the carriageway will be removed immediately,” the officer told The Hindu.Police say the issue extends beyond congestion. The Knowledge City stretch has, over the past few years, emerged as one of the city’s recurring hotspots for dangerous driving, drag-racing attempts, motorcycle stunts and other prohibited activities, prompting repeated enforcement drives.On May 24, four youths, including a 19-year-old degree student, were booked after a modified car was involved in stunt driving in the area. Similar cases have surfaced repeatedly over the past year, drawing complaints from residents and regular commuters and prompting calls for stricter enforcement.
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