E-Paper
Chandigarh admn to update parking policy after 1.5 years
After over one and a half years of its notification, the Chandigarh administration has decided to update its parking policy so that it becomes “implementable”
After over one and a half years of its notification, the Chandigarh administration has decided to update its parking policy so that it becomes “implementable”. After years of debate and multiple drafts, the UT administration had finally notified the parking policy in December 2020 with the aim to decongest Chandigarh. But, none of its provisions have been implemented yet.
After a review meeting of the parking policy’s implementation on Thursday, Chandigarh adviser Dharam Pal directed the urban planning department to rejig it to make it more effective. “It was notified some time back, but has not been implemented at all. We will revisit the policy and many concepts will be introduced which will make it practicable and implementable,” said Pal.
The policy, at the time of its notification, was positioned as more of a vision document, with broad guidelines for what can be done to mitigate parking problems. Formulated by the urban planning department, the policy doesn’t have any mandatory clauses, with the onus of its implementation being on various government agencies – particularly, the municipal corporation and the UT transport department.
Even during its formulation, there was tussle between the urban planning department and the transport department as to which one of them would draft it, with both putting the onus on the other. Finally, it took the direct intervention of the UT adviser at the time to put the responsibility on the urban planning department.
The policy recommends imposition of congestion charges and linking availability of parking space with vehicle registration and its key focus is on maximising utilisation of existing parking spaces through community parking. It recommends community parking in each sector by using neighbourhood, commercial and institutional parking lots on rental basis. These parking lots are to be run by the registered Residents’ Welfare Associations (RWAs). Using parking of educational institutions post their operational hours has also been suggested. The policy categorically states against converting green belts into parking areas, though it allows for construction beneath the parks.
To create more parking space in houses, it allows for two main gates in the front boundary. It also permits stilt parking on the ground floor of the house. At group housing societies, commercial and institutional buildings, it allows for three-level basement parking.
The policy also recommends introduction of mobile apps, which will provide citizens travel advice on non-motorised transport and public transport, which will be integrated with public bike sharing. Use of technology will also allow them to assess parking demand and availability of parking lots in a particular area. Smart parking systems, like parking fee payment through e-wallet and other digital modes, has also been proposed.
Recently, RITES had highlighted several problems with the city’s parking management, while making a host of recommendations, many of which aren’t in the parking policy.
