Surface parking scrapped in Noida’s Sector 18 market, Noida authority to operate multilevel parking facility

NOIDA: The Noida authority on Thursday said it has scrapped surface parking,or on-the-road parking, in Sector 18 – the city’s biggest commercial hub. The authority has also decided to make this commercial area a ‘no vehicle zone’ by the end of next month.

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The area was to become a vehicle-free zone from March 23 this year, in order to contain pollution caused due to traffic caused by haphazard parking on the internal roads of the market, which narrows space for vehicular and pedestrian movement. The authority had taken this decision on March 19, 2020 after the Supreme Court-appointed Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (Epca) chairman Bhure Lal, in December last year, had suggested that the commercial hub be made a vehicle free zone to check pollution.

However, the plan could not be implemented due to the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. In July, the authority announced it will be done from October 2, when air pollution starts increasing in the region.

The plan was again delayed though, with parking continuing on the roads unabated. Officials said the authority has also realised that the multi-level parking (MLP) facility, which was built for this commercial hub, has failed to make any revenue as commuters prefer parking on the roads rather than using the six-floor facility. Facing severe revenue losses, real estate firm DLF, which was operating both surface and MLP facilities, surrendered the work order.

Officials said the authority hopes that scrapping road parking will help direct motorists to the MLP and hence bring in revenue. The DLF had on February 1, 2018, started managing the MLP in Sector 18, which has a capacity of 4,000 vehicles. It was also looking after parking operations at surface (roadside) with a capacity of 1,000 vehicles. DLF, as per agreement, was to pay a minimum Rs75 lakh per month for parking to the authority.

When contacted, spokespersons of the DLF group refused to comment on the issue.

“We have started operating the multi-level car parking on our own after DLF surrendered the same. We have decided to ban parking on the surface area (roadside) of this market. We will also make this market a ‘no vehicle zone’ to make it pedestrian friendly,” said Ritu Maheshwari, chief executive officer of the Noida authority. The deadline for the implementation of this initiative has been set for November-end.

Roadside parking on the internal roads in this area aids congestion. During peak hours, pedestrian movement in the market becomes a nightmare with vehicles occupying every available space, with some trying to wade their way through to the entries or exits of the commercial hub.

In order to make this initiative a success, the authority has decided to discuss the issue with all stakeholders, including traders.

Back in 1996, when Sector 18 was rolled out as a commercial hub, it was touted as Noida’s most upcoming destination for shopping and other commerce. Today, it houses a five star hotel, two shopping malls, offices and commercial towers as well as several eateries and restaurants, and retail outlets.

Two years before this, the authority had come up with a ‘first-come-first-serve’ plot scheme to lure investors who can set-up shops and dwellings in this 80 acres commercial area carved out of agricultural patch, located along the Dadri road, which was the only connect between East Delhi and Dadri town.

Traders, however, said they are not happy with the authority’s move.

“The authority started making the Sector 18 market a no-vehicle-zone from October 2 forcefully. But nobody would agree to this plan as it is impractical. No shop owner would park his vehicle in the MLP and walk a kilometre to his shop. The same goes with visitors. This plan of a no-vehicle-zone would kill business in the area. We will protest against this plan as it is not feasible. The authority said that it is being implemented in light of the graded response action plan (Grap) to reduce air pollution by reducing the number of vehicles in the market. Why is this plan not being implemented in markets of the entire city then,” said SK Jain, president of the Sector 18 market welfare association.

Shoppers, though, welcomed the move.

“Traffic in this market is a complete mess. At times we prefer not to visit this market due to the congestion on all internal roads. A no-vehicle-zone idea is good as it will free up space for pedestrian movement in the market,” said Deepak Mittal, a resident of Sector 30.

Since parking is located at quite a distance from the market, visitors said they want carts to ferry them.

“The authority should run carts to ferry visitors from the MLP to the market as walking such a long distance will not be easy for everyone, especially during the summer season. Also, the management of the parking should be experienced and professional, so that visitors do not face any inconvenience,” said Bhumika Singh, a resident of Sector 61.

According to the authority’s rules, visitors will have to pay R30 for the first two hours for a four wheeler and for each additional hour, one needs to pay R10. For a two wheeler one will have to pay R5 per hour. The parking will remain open from 9am to 11pm.