Police crack down on parking

Amid complaints from motor scooter riders, the Taipei city police started a crackdown yesterday on motorcyclists parking outside of specially designated parking areas on walkways along Tunhua N. Road.

After a two-week probation period, police started their campaign by scooping up motorbikes parked illegally on pavements along Tunhua N. Road between Minchuan E. Road and Pateh Road yesterday. A total of 176 motorcycles -- and five cars -- were taken away.

City officials said the crackdown had been launched with the convenience of pedestrians in mind.

"We want pedestrians to feel safe when they walk down arcades and along walkways around the city, which is why we designed these new parking spaces on Tunhua N. Road," said Chen Maw-shien (陳茂銑), deputy director of the city's transportation department.

The new parking bays have access ramps running directly to and from the road, which means motorists do not have to travel down footpaths to get to them. "Thus, there is no risk of pedestrians being hit," said Chen Shyue-tair (陳學台), section chief at the transportation department in charge of motorbike affairs.

As part of the urban development department's plan to beautify Tunhua N. Road by renovating "street furniture" such as lamps and trash cans, 1,000 motorbike parking spaces on walkways and another 500 on back alleys and lanes running perpendicular to the road were created, city officials said.

But Huang Chung-nan (黃中南), director of the city's parking management administration, in briefing Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday afternoon on the crackdown, acknowledged the administration faced a problem meeting demand for parking spaces.

According to Huang, only 75 percent of estimated demand on Tunhua N. Road has been met in the plan to establish the new parking spaces.

Ma urged city officials to calculate exactly how many parking lots could be created on pavements under the plan to renovate old and damaged walkways. He also asked the transportation department to present a projected timetable and scale for the exclusion of motorbikes from arcades around the city by the end of this month.

But motorcyclists say the shortage of approved parking bays is precisely what has been driving them to park on pavements and arcades, and the city government has a duty to provide more parking spaces before enforcing its new policies.

"Exclusion from arcades? Where are we supposed to park?" asked motorcyclist Cheng Li-ming (程理明). Cheng said although he agreed with the goal of creating a safer environment for pedestrians, the city government should provide alternative parking places for motorcyclists.

Mavis Chen (陳立青), another motorcyclist, said the crackdown on Tunhua N. Road bothered her as she was no longer allowed to park on the arcade of her office building. "It's not so convenient for me. I have to walk a bit further to reach my office," she said.

Chen also said the city's decision to forbid motorbike parking on arcade areas should be contingent on the sizes of arcades involved.

But another motorcyclist, Lin Chin-fu (林進福), said he supported the city's new parking scheme. "It's easier to park as I can drive my bike directly onto the parking lots on the pavements," he said. "Besides, don't you think the walkways look cleaner and much more organized?"

But if motorcyclists think they have it tough now, the city police are just warming up. According to officials, next on their list is a crackdown on illegal and unsafe motorcycle driving practices, such as riding on pavements.