Parking projects way off mark

New Delhi: Like many of the erstwhile MCD’s ambitious parking projects, the stack parking on Sat Bhirawan Road, Karol Bagh, has also missed several deadlines. The project, which was sanctioned in 2009, is yet to be made operational. MCD had also planned a multilevel automated parking under PPP model at Shastri Park in Karol Bagh but it never took off due to poor response from bidders. 
    Despite collecting Rs 29 crore from traders as parking charges, North Corporation, created after the MCD trifurcation in April, has not been able to create new parking space in the market. “Over the years, the footfall in the Karol Bagh market has increased manifolds, but the corporation has done little to address the parking problem. The stack parking was to be completed before the Commonwealth Games but it is yet to be made operational,” said Lovleen Kumar, who owns a guesthouse. 
    Kumar claims the project is not feasible. “The parking lot has been constructed on the road. This will block traffic movement. The corporation planned this project in a hurry.” 
    Officials say the Rs 80-lakh project got delayed as it was challenged by a trader in the Delhi high court. But sources say the matter was resolved in August 2010. “After the court case, the project was put on hold due to Commonwealth Games. The construction work started in December 2010,” said an official. The parking, which has space for 90 cars, was to be completed within six months but the project got stuck in bureaucratic process. Similarly, the proposed parking near Jessa Ram Hospital is yet to be tendered. 
    While shoppers and traders complain about parking problems, the corporation has done little to identify new space. The corporation has seven authorized parking sites. Illegal parking is happening on all arterial roads. “They overcharge people and block the entire road as cars are parked in double lanes,” said Murli Mani, president of Karol Bagh Traders’ Association. 
    According to Yogender Chandolia, chairman, standing committee, North Corporation, “The stack parking was planned for the Commonwealth Games. But we could not start the project due to legal issues. We hope to complete it by early next year. As for Shastri Park, we will again float tenders. We are also going to identify new surface-level parking sites.”

Source: TOI (11 Dec, 2012)

Making space in a crowded city

The NCR is crumbling under the pressure of vehicles. And multi-level parkings cannot be the only way out of this parking mess. The solution lies in ensuring that parking lots are built within deadlines, ensuring the existing ones operate smoothly, converting illegal parkings into legal ones and promoting public transport.

Sample this: Less than a month after its inauguration, cars were stuck in the Rs. 80 crore Sarojini Nagar automatic multi-level parking for two hours due to a technical snag. The Haryana Urban Development Authority’s (HUDA) proposal to construct four multi-level parkings has not materialised while the Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon’s (MCG) plan to build a multi-level lot in old Gurgaon is stuck in red tape.

The Sarojini Nagar parking project, experts say, was carried out without a clear strategy. “Commuters still prefer to park their vehicles in surface parkings,” said Anumita Roy Chowdhary, from Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). The new multi-level parking on BKS Marg too is used below its capacity. The CSE, in a study, found that multi-level parkings are operating at a mere 20 to 40% of their capacity.

On the other hand, the NDMC and the three municipal corporations are dragging their feet on the construction of 15 new parking projects, that are supposed to make space for nearly 5,000.

Gurgaon too is not much different. Considering the mess, both HUDA and MCD have promised to improve the existing lots and create new ones. “We will build another 10 to 15 parking lots wherever possible,” said Praveen Kumar, HUDA administrator, despite the fact that nothing has moved forward on the earlier announced two projects. Similarly, MCG Chief Engineer BS Singroha said, “Our project may take months or years. But we have started improving the existing parking lots.”

In Noida, authorities are planning to tackle the situation by building more multi-level parkings — two will be built in Sector 18, another will come up at Sector 38A at the Botanical Garden Metro station. Together, they will be able to accommodate 8,000 vehicles. The deadline: Next 18 months.

What also remains to be done is putting an end to the parking mafia, which the Noida police say they will do by equipping parking attendants hand-held devices to issue parking slips. The contractors will be asked to get the police verification of attendants done. Noida Authority is planning to make contractors liable for cars stolen from their parking lot by making them submit Rs. 5 lakh as compensation if a car is stolen from their parking lot.

Source: Hindustan Times, (09.08.2012)Original Article