Pindiites park cars wherever they please

Rawalpindi: Some city residents think that they can park their car wherever they please without any regard for others. These are the real culprits and they really do think that they can park anywhere they like.

"I've seen cars parked wrongly at airports, bus stops, or retail malls and of course outside someone's house in a residential area. The latter can actually be quite annoying," says Jafar Sadiq.

"It's just another example of selfish and inconsiderate behaviour that has become very symbolic of the way people are and the way they treat others these days. It's very sad, but it would appear that it's a case of every man and woman for themselves and damn the rest of you," says Zainul Abideen.

"I've also noticed that this display of selfish and irresponsible parking tends to be associated more with certain types of vehicles. The delivery man in his white van for example will pull up wherever he pleases regardless of the fact that it's probably blocking an entrance or restricting the movement of pedestrians," says Zaman Abbas.

Azadar Hussain says, "Selfish parking in a place like a hospital can not only be irritating but considering the fact that patients and ambulances, etc. need to get around, it could be potentially hazardous as well. People do not really consider what they do." "Parking on the pavement requires driving upon it which is perilous, for good reasons because it kills people. This does threaten pedestrians; it also damages the pavement. Let us not forget parking on the pavement, to the point that one has to walk on the road is immoral," says Aun Ali.

"There are simply too many cars on the roads in the city and the poor infrastructure cannot cope with wrong parking. Residential streets are even narrower. This is the result of trying to cram as many houses into as small an area as possible," says Samsam Hussain.

"Off-road parking is rarely a consideration for developers. I mean, why to make a parking space when you can build another house there and sell it for much more money," says Musa Kazim.

"It has been my own experience that when neighbourhoods were constructed many of the vehicles in use now were not considered, so our street distances were better in allowing a vehicle's parking position not to affect another," says Hassan Askari.

"I have a neighbour who is a car dealer. He sees himself as some kind of a mayor and wants all the commoners should be subservient to him. He has an abandoned car parked right in front of my house, which has rusted and has dust all over it," says Ali Naqi.

"This guy is a first-class prick and he takes pleasure in it. He is lucky his neighbours are not violent persons," adds Ali.