Case Study: New Delhi, Parking:Policies, problems and potential solutions

Way ahead

Parking demand is insatiable. No amount of parking provisions can help to satisfy the growing demand. Therefore, parking provisions should work on the principle of parking restraint to put brakes on car growth and usage. The provisions should not incite more demand but should discourage people from using personal vehicles. The future road map should hinge on this principle. This detailed assessment of the parking problem in Delhi underscores the fact that a combination of strategies are needed to develop a parking policy as a decongestion measure and to reduce the overall demand for parking. Good parking policy has the potential to be an effective first generation car restraint measure in Indian cities as they already have some system of providing and organising parking.

It is, therefore, important that the parking policies in cities reflect the following principles:

Utilise parking facilities to improve usage of public transport and non-motorised public transport: The new parking structures should be used innovatively to improve usage and for the integration of public transport. Locate parking structures close to the interchange points of the public transport nodes like metro and bus stations and use them for park and ride system to reduce pressure on the commercial centres. Link them with the targeted commercial areas with feeder services that include three-wheelers, cycle rickshaws, small buses or easy pedestrian ways. Improving access and connectivity of places through improved public transport can reduce overall parking demand. Ticketing system of public transport should incorporate park and ride component. Parking rates should favour intermediate transport including three-wheelers and taxis, and also non motorised vehicles.

Parking problem is much worse in residential areas. Numerous disputes over parking in residential neighbourhoods with serious law and order consequences have become common in Delhi. Violent fights are reported regularly in newspapers. Worldwide experience has shown that appropriately priced parking can make a significant impact. It can influence demand for parking and commuter choice for alternatives.

Free parking should be minimised or eliminated: It is important to eliminate or minimise free parking. Pricing of parking should be based on user pay principle and the aim should be to go for full cost pricing. Use pricing in a manner that it reduces peak demand and congestion in convenient places. Parking charges gradually make urban road users aware that driving within the city cannot be free.

Parking rates should be lower at park and ride sites to influence commuting choices: With park and ride system, the long term parkers who are largely office goers will not crowd at the commercial centres but utilise long distance parking facilities. The proportion of the short-term and long term users varies from site to site though the short-term users dominate in most sites.

Need parity in rates of surface parking and structured parking: For the first time, Indian cities are making a transition from low priced or free surface parking to cost intensive structured parking. If the cost of the investment in the structured parking is recovered through higher parking fees, it will have significant impact on parking rates in the city.

? Rates of parking on surface and multilevel structured parking be brought to equivalent, or near parity rates. Civic agencies should develop a management model to ensure that the parity works.

? Use regulatory measures such as restrictions on total numbers for parking on surface and congested on-street parking so that structured parking is optimally utilised.

? Parking pricing should influence commuter behaviour in favour of public transportation and lower parking demand. Graded rates should also be introduced according to the commercial importance of the site. Surface parking, especially on-street parking, should be progressively curtailed in areas where structured parking is being constructed.

Develop metropolitan wide parking fee system: Incorporate a metropolitan-wide view for regulating parking that must cover both commercial business districts (CBD) and non-CBD areas. Though the rates in the CBD areas are expected to be higher than the non-CBD areas, maintain parity within zones.

Enforcement of norms: At this stage, even the minimum provisions of parking in buildings as per the norm of the Delhi Development Authority under the Master Plan 2021 are not adhered to. Spaces to be allotted for parking in buildings are diverted for other uses. As a result, there is a huge spill-over on the roads. After ensuring that norms are implemented, use regulations effectively to ensure that they are utilised and spillovers are prevented.

Public transport, pedestrians and cyclists are the immediate victims of car mania. This car dependency can be reversed with the right policies. City governments can discourage car usage while improving access to more sustainable forms of transport.

Reassess parking standards for future application: Delhi and most other cities normally set minimum parking standards. But, as improved parking pricing policy comes into full effect and parking management begins to work in tandem with public transport augmentation plans, the city governments should begin to consider need-based flexible parking standards for different locations and also capping the parking facilities. This will help to prevent over supply and waste. Develop parking inventory and current parking utilisation patterns to identify areas of deficit and then develop an integrated parking policy to identify specific measures, tasks, responsibilities, budgets and schedule.

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