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And with a growing number of people who can afford vehicles, parking is a problem faced by many on a daily basis.
As the BBMP’s announcement to create 25 underground multi-platform parking lots around the City came under fire, the plans have been scrapped now. According to the BBMP officials, there is a proposal for a multi-level parking at two more places but nothing is official yet.
With options dying out, what do the people of the City feel and do they think the responsibility lies entirely on the authorities?
Many agree that the need for parking has been increasing exponentially. “I feel parking contributes to about 30 to 40 per cent of the congestion on the road. In my opinion, there is a lack of designated parking locations in the City and I am not sure whether the rules regarding parking spaces are being adhered to by the commercial spaces,” says Gagan Achar, who works in Akamai Technologies. “For commercial places like M G Road with a large floating population, there should be rules allowing parking for every commercial building. The parking system should depend on the area concerned,” says Pramod Sana, a professional.
And people don’t shy away from declaring that more can be done about the problem.
“There are spaces that can be used for parking, like the army property which can be shifted outside the City, as was done in Hyderabad. Underground parking seems to be a lucrative option but first, I think everyone needs to be convinced that parking is a big problem,” says Gagan.
“When the needs of the people are increasing so much, the BBMP needs to do more. They should create more rented parking lots because people are ready to pay for them,” says Vijay, a professional. And simple measures can make a difference too.
“People should park their vehicles in the right manner so that the space can be used for more vehicles,” says Vijay. While a lot is said about accommodating extra vehicles on the road, not much is done about discouraging the excessive use of private vehicles.
“I think the parking problem isn’t due of the lack of parking facilities. It’s because there are too many vehicles on the road. The authorities should do more to curb vehicular growth and give incentives to sustainable transport modes such as buses and cycles, rather than investing in multi-level parking lots,” says Kanishka Lahiri, a professional at Advanced Micro Devices.
“People also should take out their vehicle only when they know adequate parking would be available at the destination. Otherwise they should use the public transport,” says Shubhanand, an IT professional.