New Delhi, (14th April 2022): “Getting a parking space in New Delhi is very rare. One has to fight their way to get it, especially in a crowded public space,” says Nimish Mangal, a resident of Noida.
Even the Supreme court has considered the lack of parking spaces in the National capital as “one of the most serious problems”. The court has also asked the government to do an assessment of the parking availability for the next 25 years, simultaneously asking them to build relevant structures as well.
The parking problems have increased due to an increase in the number of vehicles by 50% since the last decade with about 7.5 lakh cars getting registered every year. “It is definitely difficult to find parking in public marketplaces. If we don’t find it the first time, then we will have to wait for another hour to get a parking spot,” said a resident of Delhi-NCR.
There is a multi-story parking facility in sector-18, Noida with a capacity of “2800 cars and 180 two-wheelers”. However, it has not been a successful initiative as it is quite far from the marketplace. People would have to walk to the market with their baggage, they would rather park their cars on the roads near the shops.
Travelators, and mechanical walkways, can also be installed for 200 to 500 meters in the marketplaces for pedestrians from the parking lots to the market areas, said Architect Sangita Agarwal, New Delhi. There is enough funds with the government to undertake such projects as well with the taxes the citizens are paying, she added.
There are various initiatives taken by the government and authorities to ensure that parking spots are available to the commuters. For instance, The Noida Authority Park Smart App was recently introduced. The app allows commuters to book their parking spaces at the multi-level car parking. While the on-the-spot parking facility will remain available as well in sectors 1, 3, 5, 16A, 18, and 38A.
“There are two main parking problems in Delhi-NCR. First is insufficient parking spaces to accommodate the vehicles and second is that parking spots are situated far from the market places,” said Architect Sangita Agarwal, New Delhi. She mentioned that mechanical parking systems or robotic parking are efficient methods to facilitate smooth parking mechanisms in the city.
For instance, in Kamala Nagar, the robotic parking system has been constructed to accommodate over 1000 vehicles which has effectively contained the volume of incoming cars. Commuters would park their automobiles in front of the shops on the roads in the region about five years ago, resulting in overcrowding and crawling traffic in the area.
It is the thought process that we need to change. We have to encourage parking innovation for smooth traffic flow and parking availability. We are progressing and we should be doing it with a progressive mindset, said Architect Agarwal.
