Traffic cops come up with graded parking system proposal

Manoj Patil,DCP,Traffic Branch said,“We have approached the PMC with the proposal. This system would help reduce traffic congestion in the Peth areas. We now have a capacity for parking 1,800 four-wheelers and 7,000 two-wheelers. The required space is for 5,000 four-wheelers and 35,000 two-wheelers in the central commercial district. The graded system will be an incentive for those who park for fewer hours; now many park in one spot through the day.”

According to the proposal prepared by the traffic department,the rates for parking in covered parking lots would be substantially lower than parking on the road. While it is Rs 5 every hour,up to two hours,for cars in parking lots,it is Rs 10 every hour for parking on the road. For the third hour,car owners would have to pay Rs 10 and thereafter Rs 15 per additional hour in parking lots,Rs 5 less than what he would pay for parking on the road.

For two-wheelers,it is Rs 2 every hour for the first two hours in parking lots and Rs 5 every hour for parking on the roadside. In parking lots,the third hour will cost Rs 5 and Rs 10 every hour thereafter. For roadside parking it will be Rs 5 more.  

“People feel convenient parking on roads near the office or the store they have to go and hence refrain from using parking lots. For convenience,people even park in no parking zones if roads are full. Traffic jams also occur as people keep their drivers waiting with the car on the road. When traffic department officials are seen patrolling,they would drive away and stop again on the road after going a short distance,” Patil said.

According to him people use private vehicles to go to markets instead of using public transport as parking rates are either low or,in many cases,not levied.

According to the proposal,while people generally like to walk through markets,in many markets in Peth areas,footpaths are narrow. They should be widened and fitted with railings. There should be zebra crossings. In the absence of adequate infrastructure for people to walk,they prefer parking their vehicles as near to their destination as possible,leading to congestion on roads.

Sreenivas Bonala,Additional City Engineer,Pune Municipal Corporation,said,“We have received many proposals from the traffic department recently. But according to the Bombay Provincial Municipal Corporation (BPMC) Act,any changes in the parking rates must be passed by the general body.” Clearly,the onus on making the city roads less congested lies with the civic body.