Mumbai: BMC to clear out main roads, send cars into bylanes

Officials of the MPA said that each of the pilot areas measures 1.5-2 square kilometres and includes a congested arterial road, all of which are at least 18 metres wide. Representation pic

A month after levying hefty fines on those parking within 500 metres of a public parking lot, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is planning on announcing on-street parking in three areas on pilot basis later this month. While the Mumbai Parking Authority (MPA) is still working out the details, once implemented, vehicles will no longer be allowed to park for free on the arterial roads and provisions for paid parking will be made on internal roads in the area. The plan will take off once the markings and signage are put up, a senior civic official said.

Speaking to mid-day, Vijay Singhal, the additional municipal commissioner said, "Detailed studies have been carried out and the on-street parking in the three areas will be implemented in the next two weeks, once the markings and signage have been put up. There will be a visible impact."

"Three areas will be taken up on a pilot basis. MPA is figuring out the parking slots available based on the area-specific requirements," said Ramanath Jha, chairman of the MPA. He added that one area has been selected from the island city, eastern and western suburbs and the GIS mapping of the parking spaces is being done simultaneously. MPA officials said that each of the pilot areas measures 1.5 to 2 square kilometres and includes a congested arterial road, all of which at least 18 metres wide.

Also Read: Mumbai: Illegal parking by service centres on footpaths ignored by BMC

Prachi Merchant, MPA member and urban planner with the All India Institution of Local Self Government, said, "The areas that have been selected have a mixed land use [part commercial and part residential] and are close to a public parking lot that has a low occupancy. The on-street parking aims to relieve the existing congestion on the arterial roads."

Different types

Based on the requirement, internal roads will have different types of parking, like restricted parking - which includes one-side parking - , residential and commercial parking. "We have taken roads that are more than 18 metres wide where on-street parking can be considered. Initially, we will start with no parking on the [arterial] road and then based on the demand, we can mark parking slots on the arterial roads if required. Once we fix the methodology, we can then extend the process to the entire ward," said Merchant.

She added that the team of 15 urban planners have carried out surveys to determine the parking count and the street characteristics.

Least inconvenience

The team has also carried out a license plate survey, which includes parking duration and parking index [peak times and number of vehicles] and have categorised the areas as commercial, residential or a mix of both, which will help determine the parking charges.

Shishir Joshi, advisory member of MPA and CEO and founder, Project Mumbai pointed out that constant efforts are being made to examine different main roads and arteries within Mumbai's various traffic divisions to ensure that mobility is increased.

"Our effort is to not just look at what works best for Mumbai but also keep a constant comparison with the best international practices. Urban planners are using various studies and mechanisms to look at peak hour traffic, parking usage, what kind of vehicles are parked, their sizes, the ECS (the equivalent car space) among other factors," he said. He added that MPA is trying to ensure that local residents are put to least inconvenience.

03
No. of areas the pilot project will be implemented in

15
No. of urban planners who conducted surveys for the pilot project

Also Read: Mumbai: BMC collects Rs 10.57 crore from entry fee for penguins

Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, crime news, current affairs, and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates