Malls add to parking woes

Malls add to woes
With parking space not being created fast enough, other roads are getting congested
The Times of India

The quest for parking space in the city seems an eternal one. Now, Bangaloreans are searching for it even in malls. City malls may have lots of space reserved for parking, but with the number of mall footfalls rising, finding parking space at a mall is getting increasingly difficult. With parking spaces full, parking in the vicinity of the mall seems a popular choice among shoppers. Who’s complaining? Residents of areas near malls are, because their roads are turning into parking lots.

Quick fix solution:
With paucity of mall parking space, many shoppers are finding their own solution to the problem. They park somewhere close to a mall and walk up or take an auto rickshaw or cab there. “It’s better than waiting for half-anhour on the parking ramp between the third and fourth floor just to get my vehicle out. I park in one of the smaller lanes near the mall and walk up,” says shopper Sheela Dev, who frequents a mall in south Bangalore. Shopper Tejas Sharma says, “One mall in the heart of the city’s business and shopping district has dedicated parking. But parking is always full there, so I park on a road parallel to it.”

Don’t park here: While the problem may not be that severe on weekdays, weekends are the worst for residents living near malls, with malls reporting 30-40 per cent increased business on weekends alone. Clara Rasquinha, who lives in Koramangala says, “Saturdays and Sundays are utter chaos. That’s when parking spills into narrow lanes and if someone parks in front of my gate, there is no way of tracking the vehicle down. I have often called the traffic police and requested them to tow the vehicle away.” Shoppers intruding into residential parking spaces is not restricted to big malls alone. “People park in by-lanes even when they visit smaller malls, retail outlets and large stores which do not have adequate parking provisions,” says Bangalorean Rashmi Ballal.

Shoppers misuse parking space:
Malls managements say it’s not just shortage of parking space that’s the problem. “It works both ways. Shoppers sometimes park in the mall parking lots for hours and go out nearby, thereby inconveniencing genuine shoppers,” says one mall spokesperso n . Another adds, “We have had officegoers using mall parking, because they can’t find parking space.”

Working out a solution: “We are definitely looking at adding parking space, with the use of technology. It will be through higher utilisation of space using multi-level parking technology — one such module is under trial at present and we are exploring implementing it,” says Rajesh Seth, marketing head of a mall. A Karumbaiah, marketing head at another mall says, “We do have multi-level parking and also have a vacant plot where shoppers can park on weekends. Nearly 50 per cent of our space has gone towards parking.”

Upcoming malls are planning ahead. One of them is planning parking bays for about 4,500 cars at a time.