No more free parking in public spaces

Bengaluru: Free parking in public spaces may soon come to an end, and not a day too soon!  Officials from various departments met on Monday to re-examine the long discussed proposal to convert free public parking spaces into paid facilities. This is being done to bring about a drop in the use of individually driven vehicles and to boost public transport as the mode of choice.  The meeting was attended by the BBMP, BDA and the Traffic police. Still in its nascent stages, however, the proposal still awaits a design.   A senior police officer said, “Traffic congestion was being discussed at the meeting, which is when the concept of paid parking arose. BBMP and the other departments concerned are working towards it.

" There is still no official confirmation", the official admits, adding that "the proposal had been discussed regardless and plans to implement it are already underway."  A BBMP official who was part of the meeting told DC that the idea is on the cards. “It needs to be designed and plans for implementation need to be put in place,” he says. All public parking spaces that are currently free will be inspected. “These will be converted into paid parking facilities that charge on an hourly basis. We will also cap the number of vehicles in a particular lot and when the place is full, no extra vehicles will be accommodated.”  

With no clarity still on who will take charge of the project, discussions are on with regard to calling tenders and inviting a private agency to take over. BBMP will oversee the system along with the traffic police department who will help improve it, the official explained.   A senior traffic police officer said that paid parking, if implemented across the city, will make a big difference towards easing congestion on the roads.

“When all free public parking spaces in the city are converted to paid lots, then there will be a gradual decrease in people using private vehicles. Again, the pricing should be fixed so that it increases every hour. This will discourage people from parking their vehicles all day long.” It is a move in the right direction, says the senior officer, to bring about a long term change in urban transport choices. “Once the demand for public transport picks up, the government will automatically speed up its own efforts towards an effective system with end-to-end connectivity.”