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Delhi’s new-look Central Vista Avenue will have space to park over 1,100 cars
Central Vista Avenue: The CPWD has created parking spaces for 1,117 cars and 40 buses which will be connected to the pedestrian underpasses so that visitors can easily access all the lawns.
NEW DELHI: The refurbished Central Vista Avenue will have ample parking space to accommodate more than 1,000 cars on both sides of Kartavya Path, a big change for visitors who earlier had to depend on unauthorised parking lots allowed by the authorities so that the vehicles do not lead to traffic jams.
“The parking facility will be available free of cost for the first few months. But we have asked the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) to take over the parking lots,” said a senior housing and urban affairs ministry official.
The Central Public Works Department (CPWD), which is the nodal agency for the redevelopment of the Central Vista project, has created parking spaces for 1,117 cars and 40 buses. The parking lots are connected to the pedestrian underpasses so that visitors can easily access all the lawns.
Initially, parking for around 700 vehicles will be allowed. “In two parking lots, work related to the common central secretariat is going on. These will open after a few months,” said a CPWD official, aware of the development.
A senior NDMC official said, “There are only two official parking areas around the stretch in the front area of Shastri Bhavan at Dr Rajendra Prasad road and in front of Nirman Bhavan. Earlier, there was unauthorized parking behind the canals, which was being allowed to take place to avoid congestion and traffic jam on main arterial roads.”
The official added that the old parking areas were operating unofficially.
“For instance, the space near the Vigyan Bhavan was used for excess parking for government events and even during the Parliament sessions. Similarly, media vans were allowed to park near the fountain on Rajpath based on a request from the ministry of information and broadcasting but it was not an official parking lot. Under the new system, the parking will be streamlined,” the official said.
NDMC vice-chairman Satish Upadhyay said the council hasn’t been formally informed about the role it will be required to play in parking management. “We will inform the public about the details of parking management after an official handover or communication from CPWD regarding it. So far our role is restricted to providing basic obligatory functions,” he added.