manoj

BMC gets bids for three underground car parks, but the problem is far more acute.

A SLICE of parking blues is moving on to a purple patch. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is in the process of building three underground multi-level car parks at prominent the city.

All the three car parks will be simultaneously constructed at Shamaprasad Mukherji Chowk or the Regal junction (stretching up to Jehangir Art Gallery in Kala Ghoda), Hutatma Chowk or Flora Fountain, and the Mahatma Phule market in front of Crawford market.

The structures will come up on a design-build-own-operate-transfer (DBOOT) basis. Officials of the Private Initiative (PI) cell of the BMC told HT that each car park would accommodate more than 1,000 cars. The civic body had floated tenders for the project late last year. Already, they have received 14 applications for each car park.

“We are waiting for the election. Once the new civic committee is formed, we can start the work,” said Manu Srivastav, additional commissioner, BMC. Currently, the BMC has 89 parking lots, which are operated by private contractors.

In addition, municipal councillors in some wards had initiated pay-andpark schemes, said the BMC traffic department. Roadblocks Car explosion: According the state transport ministry, the car population in Greater Bombay till March 2005 was more than four lakh. More than a lakh autorickshaws and 6.5 lakh two-wheelers run across the city.

“If each car park accommodates 1,000 cars, it would only cater to 1 per cent of the city’s car population. Considering the investment needed for a underground car park, parking rates are likely to be very high,” said transport expert Sunil Badami. “Since most young professionals buy cars on loan, they do not like to spend too much on parking. We would be stuck with the same problem.” Lack of designated parking space: A study conducted on Churchgate station by non-governmental organisation Citispace in 2002 revealed that because of a wellestablished mass transit system, the number of cars vis-à-vis the day population of the area is fairly low. Despite this, the study pointed out, main streets like J. Tata and Veer Nariman roads witness acute parking shortage. The pay and parks schemes in the area are not executed properly. These include parking ar eas near Mantralaya and Eros Cinema. Also, since the Oval Maidan stretch has wide pavements, it is used as parking space.

Citispace convener Neera Punj said: “We spent over Rs 2 lakh on the study. Every government department was given a copy. But none of them got back to us.” Parking Mafia: Usually, slum dwellers run the mafia all over the city. For instance, weekend partygoers heading towards Hard Rock Café in Lower Parel pay slum dwellers living outside the Kamla Mills compound for car safety. The stretch from Deepak Cinema to the Doordarshan building in Worli does not have a car park. You either pay Rs 50 to the slumdweller knocking on the window, or find a mechanic in the wee hours to tow your car.

Miscreants puncture tyres, break the oil tank and inflict even heavy damage to the vehicle. A few months ago, several cases were reported of unknown people damaging cars parked in Bandra.

Bipin Bihari, additional commissioner of police (western region), said that the matter was being investigated. Police sources said a parking mafia could be responsible for it. Police patrols were also deployed at those car parks.


Temporary car parks: Landscape architect Arun Kumar, who planned the Akshardham temple in Gandhinagar and Delhi, said illmaintained gardens and dumping grounds should be used for parking. “The city has plenty of negative space, which should be converted into parking places during peak hours,” he said.

Underground car parks: Architect and urban planner Sanjay Udamle said densely populated stations like Dadar and Thane should have underground car parks. He said: “Thane has seven types of vehicles hovering around the station precincts. An underground car park can ease the mess. ”

Better public transport: Taking a leaf out of the Goan public transport system, Transport expert Sunil Badami said a sky-bus rapid transport system project could solve the problem in five years. Also, it will only take only Rs 6,000 crore compared to the whopping Rs 60,000 crore being invested for the metro rail plan. Mumbai needs four north-south arterial roads, he added.

Source: http://epaper.hindustantimes.com (Mumbai Edition)
Date Of Publish: 15-Jan-07

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Nothing is fool-proof to a talented fool.

manoj

EVERY DAY, Vijay Swami (42) tries to gain the ‘early mover advantage’.

If his Indigo hits the road at 7.30 am in Goregoan, the senior vice-president of an ad agency will be in his office in less than an hour. Just in time to allow his driver find parking space on the road.

The office has just one parking space and that goes to the managing director.

Swami is one of the thousands of car owners in Mumbai who face the space crunch when it comes to parking. With 300 cars added to the city’s roads every day, matters are not getting any better.

G.K. Kumar, the human resource manager of a company, drives to office all the way from Nerul to MIDC. “My office is 200m on the MIDCChakala Road and till Andheri–Kurla Road, there is no parking place,” said Kumar. Motorcycles in the parking lot meant for cars add to the misery.

“Most upwardly families have more than one car while high-income families have more cars than mem bers,” said Bina C. Balakrishnan, an expert in traffic and transportation planning. “This is a limitation in our development control rules, and this needs to be rectified immediately,” she said.

Ashok Datar, chairman of Mumbai Environmental Social Network, an NGO that deals with transport-related problems, said: “Even pay-and-park places charge too little,” he added.

Meanwhile, Nitin G. Dossa, executive chairman of Western India Auto Association, said people were unlikely to leave behind their cars till the government improved infrastructure.

“When I can’t enter trains at peak hours, I have to depend on my car. When a tax equivalent of 40 per cent of the car’s value is charged, what happens to the money?” he asked.

Many car owners complained that private car parks do little other than collect fees. The corporation, which gets a small percentage of the revenue, doesn’t take any responsibility either.

“There should be car wash and valet services,” said Balakrishnan.

Foreign fix In Bangkok, one-third of the floors in all multi-storied buildings are set apart for parking Londoners pay between 1 and 4 pounds per hour to park their cars. They pay higher rates to park on the roads. It is the reverse in Mumbai — the Inox multi-level parking lot in Nariman Point is empty most of the time because street parking is cheaper there In Manhattan, private park ing lots charge $5 to $35 per hour, while night parking for residents in multi-storey apartments is $200 to $500 per month In Shanghai, not only are parking fees high, there is also a purchase tax equivalent to 50 per cent of the car’s value. And this figure goes as high as 150 per cent in Singapore In Singapore, you have to pay a hefty annual fee just to keep a car.

Source: http://epaper.hindustantimes.com (Mumbai Edition)
Date Of Publish: 22-Jan-07

__________________
Nothing is fool-proof to a talented fool.