In Search of Solutions

Currently we are working on some PPP projects on model which DMRC had initiated. Two of these projects are in Janakpuri and near Rohini. We are doing about four-five levels of parking, so that is something which should be promoted a little bit more. Proper design can achieve efficiency, but it has its own cost. Unfortunately Delhi does not have a very strong public transport mode because of which even if parking rates are high, people use their own cars and try to park wherever they can. It was mentioned earlier that the airport parking lot is not getting filled. This is because people still want their cars to come and pick them up. They park the car outside the airport area and when it is time for them to leave, they call up their drivers to come and pick them up. So anyone who visits the airport with a driver is using this model and avoids using the parking lots which causes loss of revenue to the airport and causes a lot of choking of the roads which are outside the airport. A solution to this problem can be found only by developing more parking areas. Or else, large parking lots can be built in areas which have more open spaces and where it is feasible and there can be feeder services from these parking lots to the destinations. This is currently operational at Pragati Maidan where they have a parking lot around near India Gate and during exhibitions and events, they ferry people to the exhibition ground. Since Delhi has got more cars than all the cars put together in Chennai, Mumbai and Kolkata, parking is a big challenge. The government has to give more scope for the design. For example, in San Francisco there is a big central square, the Union Square, below which there is a huge parking lot with all green on top, thus a big public place has been utilized for parking.

Designing a parking lot for a commercial tower, a mall or retail area is much simpler than providing a parking solution on high traffic shopping areas. These are major challenges because there is not enough open space available for any kind of parking in these areas. Whatever space is available is highly choked and motorists are parking vehicles in criss-cross manner. The parking is being managed by people who are not trained for the purpose, usually they are hired on contract basis and they are often changed. So a lot need to be done to improve parking in these areas.

– Gian Mathur

 

Arvind Mayar

The MCD has started doing this and they have about 15 – 20 similar projects such as the ones in Hauz Khas, Kamlanagar, French Colony etc. In all these places they have started building the parks below and the projects are in different stages of completion. Some of them are already ready to be given on contracts. So therefore government is doing it. However they need to be popularized and for this they should have good operations like clean, secure environment, quick access and quick entry and exit because unless we have quick entry and exit people will not use the car park. In these projects the technology used is different than the one used in Sarojani Nagar.

 

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