Tambaram lacks parking policy amid rising congestion

Tambaram, a rapidly growing suburb of Chennai, is facing rising traffic congestion without a formal parking policy. According to local sources, the area has expanded significantly in recent years due to real estate development and growth in IT-related businesses, but parking infrastructure has not kept pace.

In commercial hubs across East Tambaram, Selaiyur, and West Tambaram, shoppers and visitors park along busy roads and outside residential areas. Commercial establishments have also increasingly turned public spaces into informal parking lots, causing cars to line up on streets and eat into road space meant for traffic and pavements meant for pedestrians.

The Tambaram Corporation has not formulated a parking policy to regulate these spaces, despite managing around 580 roads, including nearly 200 major stretches. Activists argue that a regulated and paid parking system could help generate revenue while reducing indiscriminate parking and easing congestion.