The absence of a sound parking policy clubbed with public ownership has unanimously emerged as the primary reason for unauthorised and illegal parking in Navi Mumbai. Such a policy would help attribute responsibilities and duties on the concerned authorities. Experts also suggested investing in parking plots and terminus for parking of heavy vehicles.
Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) commissioner, Abhijit Bangar, said, “The foremost reason for this unauthorised parking is the absence of a sound parking policy. There is a need for a common understanding about the roles and actions to be taken in the event of vehicles getting parked illegally.”
The civic chief has been conducting meetings with the traffic department to formulate a parking policy. Aware that the process of preparing a parking policy for the city has been going through the tenure of numerous earlier municipal commissioners, Bangar has stated of taking one step at a time.
“Instead of having an all-comprehensive parking policy for both heavy motor vehicles (HMVs) and light motor vehicles (LMVs), we are presently addressing the issues posed by the haphazard parking by commercial vehicles. If we manage to provide alternate parking for HMVs and side-by-side have a policy of levying heavy penalties for failing to adhere to the law, it will automatically aid in regularising traffic on roads to a large extent,” Bangar said.
A third party research and review was earlier conducted to find solutions for the parking woes that will be used to formulate the parking policy. “This, and continuous communication with the traffic and other stakeholders, should help in formulating the policy at the earliest,” said Bangar.
Deputy Commissioner of Police, Traffic, Purushottam Karad, said the issue of illegal parking by commercial vehicles has to do with the absence of adequate parking lots. “We have been regularly updating both NMMC and Panvel City Municipal Corporation (PCMC) to prepare a policy wherein it will be clear on the course of action to be taken by traffic personnel and the infrastructure that needs to be developed by the civic administration to address the parking issues. Presently, officials have been asked to conduct special drives to tow away vehicles parked illegally and there are drives conducted around truck terminals to keep them informed about not parking haphazardly. The allegation of nexus between officials has no basis whatsoever,” said Karad.
CIDCO, meanwhile, has stated of providing all possible assistance for NMMC, if sought. “Within NMMC jurisdiction, if there is a need for plots that have to be acquired for parking purposes, it can very well be acquired by going through the right channels. In areas governed by us, CIDCO is already working towards setting up a logistic park in the outskirts wherein there will be parking lots, restrooms for truck drivers, food outlets, etc. This is a mega project that should look into the parking of containers plying through Ulwe road,” said a senior official from CIDCO.
Adequate parking plots can be a solution: Experts
Retired town planners involved with the planning of the city opined that the resolution to the parking woes in Navi Mumbai lies in acquisition of adequate plots from CIDCO for parking purposes.
“NMMC should work towards acquiring plots from CIDCO for setting up adequate amount of parking lots while there should be clear demarcation on the types of vehicles to be parked here so that there is appropriate utilisation of the plot,” said former chief architect and planner, CIDCO, Arun Mahisalkar.
Mahisalkar reiterated his understanding about the willingness of authorities based on the recent initiative by the Mumbai civic body to operate valet parking in Dadar. “It is about the vision. If at a crowded place like Dadar, also a major shopping hub, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) can consider having valet parking for citizens so that they can shop at ease, then what is stopping NMMC to come up with a policy as Navi Mumbai is a planned city by CIDCO?” he said.
Another planner opined that concerns pertaining to parking are attributed to behavioural issues of the residents as a whole. “Parking by commercial vehicles actually depicts the growth trajectory of a city. Navi Mumbai, being surrounded by industries and ports, has seen exponential growth of the commercial sector. Hence there is continuous entry and exit of commercial vehicles. The issue is about illegal and haphazard parking which is a behavioural problem not restricted to just commercial vehicles but also private vehicles are equally guilty,” Kedarnath Ghorpade, former urban planner, MMRDA, said.
Ghorpade maintains that measures need to be taken to keep every traffic junction and city intersection completely free of any form of parking and the corporation is required to consider having a dedicated lane marking system for vehicles.
“Citizens themselves will have to take ownership of the city as CIDCO has given us a planned city and NMMC is striving to maintain it. Without citizen’ partnership, no amount of policy-making will work,” adds Ghorpade.