Roadside parking choke roads in Puducherry’s Boulevard

Parking of vehicles, especially cars, on the narrow lanes of residential areas in the Boulevard, has been hindering the movement of pedestrians and causing inconvenience to road users. 

With increasing commercialization of residential areas in the Boulevard, people have been grappling with parking woes. The problem is not restricted to the French quarter but has also spread to the side lanes in the Tamil quarter. 

Lack of parking is a perennial issue for the residents, but the situation turns worse during the weekends when streets become a battleground for parking spaces.

For want of space, shoppers visiting the Promenade and commercial establishments on Jawaharlal Nehru street stray onto Law De Lauriston Street and park their vehicles especially cars in front of houses and offices. 

“We are facing a lot of problems because of the indiscriminate parking by shoppers and tourists alike. Sometimes, we cannot even get out cars out of our gates when there is an emergency. There are banks and commercial establishments in the area. People who visit the banks often park their vehicles in front of the gates blocking the residents,” said R. Muthuraman, a resident of Ambalathadayar Madam Street. 

Cars parked in the Boulevard in Puducherry on August 29, 2025
| Photo Credit:
S.S. Kumar

At Law De Lauriston Street, where the Chief Secretariat is located, haphazard parking of vehicles causes a major nuisance as the road is often used by vehicles including that of Ministers. The road is narrow, and parking of vehicles causes frequent traffic snarls. 

“Puducherry has been witnessing an exponential rise in the number of vehicles especially cars and two-wheelers over the years. Almost every family has a four-wheeler, whether they have a parking facility in the house or not. Some have more than one car and they park the vehicles on the streets. The menace of illegal parking has been raised at several meetings of the Road Safety Committee. However, the problem continues to persist and no action has been taken so far,” said an urban planner. 

A senior Traffic police official said arterial roads in the French Quarter are meant for traffic movement and should not be used for parking. If there is a provision for parking, we will put up parking sign boards. Otherwise, it is deemed a no-parking zone.