Bengaluru: Pay-and-park is all set to make a comeback in the city, but in a more sophisticated avatar of the system that was given up 12 years ago due to its rampant misuse by the parking mafia.
This time making sure that people have an easier time finding parking on the roads, a mobile app will be developed to show the availability of parking space on real time basis and a 10 x 15 ft video wall displayed on all the designated streets indicating the position of parking, going by the tender document published recently by the BBMP.
And to make sure the system to be introduced on 85 select roads, including 14 in the Central Business District, does not fall prey to the parking mafia again, a manual collection of parking fee, parking meters will be installed alongside both a smart card and credit card/debit card/mobile interfaces for the convenience of drivers.
Additionally, the parking facility will be under camera surveillance and the concessionaire will be expected to deploy parking wardens and towing vehicles to remove cars parked in unauthorised areas.
The 14 major roads in the CBD identified for pay and park include M.G Road, Richmond Road, Residency Road, Commercial Street, Kasturba Road, Queens Road, Cubbon Road, Dickenson Road, Raj Bhavan Road and Race Course Road.
But not all traffic experts are happy with pay and park making a comeback as they believe it will obstruct traffic on the roads. They instead recommend multi-level parking facilities for the city, as they will not eat into precious road space.
