Bengaluru's commercial streets go pay & park way
–Official
The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is planning to implement a pay-and-park system in the city's commercial areas. In the first phase, the system will be introduced on 14 streets, including prominent ones like MG Road, Brigade Road, and Commercial Street. The system will involve charging fees for parking on these roads, with the management being outsourced to a contractor. Following this, vehicle owners will be required to pay fees to park their vehicles on these streets. The new system is part of the city's 'Parking Policy 2.0', developed by the Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT), which aims to extend the pay-and-park system across all city areas.An official said, 'As the city's population grows, so does the number of vehicles. Bengaluru now has 1.25 crore vehicles, with almost every person owning a vehicle. However, parking facilities have not kept pace with this increase, leading to severe parking shortages. New buildings are not being designed with adequate parking spaces, and many buildings do not offer parking spaces proportional to the number of units. As a result, vehicles are often parked on streets, exacerbating traffic congestion.'DULT estimates that providing parking for just 50% of the city's vehicles would require 13,000 acres of land. If the current rate of vehicle growth continues, Bengaluru will see four times the number of vehicles in the next decade, further straining the city's infrastructure.To tackle this issue, DULT has introduced a comprehensive parking management plan, hoping to reduce private vehicle usage and encourage the use of public transport.However, this plan has not yet been fully implemented. The city's traffic problems, especially in commercial districts, continue to worsen due to insufficient parking provisions. As part of the new initiative, commercial buildings are now required to have separate parking arrangements or reserve basement levels for parking. However, adherence to this regulation remains limited.BBMP anticipates an annual revenue of ₹7 crore from the pay-and-park system in the first phase, with the scheme being implemented on 14 key commercial streets. Roads like Church Street, St Mark's Road, Museum Road, Lavelle Road, and Kasturba Road are already covered under this system. Private contractors have been given the task of managing these areas.Under the new system, two-wheelers will be charged ₹15 per hour, and cars will be charged ₹30 per hour. However, the pricing has been criticised for being expensive. There is also a lack of clarity regarding how much will be charged for vehicles parked for more than an hour.BBMP had previously contracted a private company, Central Parking Services, to implement a smart parking system on 85 commercial streets in the city centre. Although some roads saw the introduction of parking fees, the system was later suspended. The future of smart parking remains uncertain.
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