BMC to study feasibility of all multi-level parking proposals

The civic administration will now conduct a feasibility study of all multi-level parking proposals to ensure that there is no burden on the existing infrastructure in the vicinity. "When parking lots are built in congested areas, they can turn detrimental for the nearby areas in terms of vehicular congestion, pollution, environment hazards, among other issues," said Additional Municipal Commissioner Aseem Gupta.

The BMC has empanelled a group of two companies to conduct a simulation study including examining, analysing and assessing the multi-level parking proposals for more than 500 vehicles each. "This will especially help in case of huge multi-level parking lots in malls. We will ensure that the waiting time for a vehicle to get parking space should not be more than 10-15 minutes, otherwise it will create huge traffic congestion," said Gupta.

The lots need to not only address the parking woes in the city, but also be more structurally and technically well-designed, said a senior civic official. Typically, the lanes in the parking lots are very narrow due to which there is a long line of vehicles waiting for space on the main roads, leading to traffic jams. Furthermore, currently parking lots are not built keeping in mind the detrimental effect of increasing pollution through cars, said the official. In addition, the parking proposals will also be vetted for any harm caused to residents in case the parking lots are blocking air or sunlight, according to officials.

The civic administration has so far approved 32 multi-level parking proposals since it restricted their height to a maximum of ground plus four storeys last year. Of the 32 parking lots approved, 18 are for more than 500 vehicles.

The BMC has also proposed to the state government to reserve parking space for autorickshaws and taxis in malls and multiplexes to decongest the roads. The roads outside malls and multiplexes are highly congested during peak hours.

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