All are not complaining

All are not complaining
Deccan Herald

You have seen him lurking around on crammed, bustling bylanes in the City.

Offering to find parking space for your bike, when you are convinced that you can’t even squeeze a pole in. He does the seemingly impossible; and gets his reward too.

The self-employed parking attendant continues to work outside the now-scrapped pay-and-park system in Bangalore. And not all Bangaloreans seem to be complaining.

“When you are running late for an appointment or an important meeting, you don’t like to spend an extra five or ten minutes looking for space. If these men can find it for us and park the vehicle themselves, I don’t mind spending two or three rupees for it,” says software consultant Satish Joseph.

With the Chief Minister’s 10-point programme for improving Bangalore traffic proposing to identify more number of stretches as no-parking zones, unauthorised parking attendants could have a dream run in the coming days.

The challenge ahead for the Traffic Police Department and the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike, however, would be in adopting an alternative parking management mechanism.

Authorised parking lots, coupled with selective implementation of automated parking in the City’s business pockets, were high on the wish-list for Bangaloreans whom Deccan Herald interacted with on the issue.

The CM’s 10-point programme has envisaged provision for parking on the peripheries of bus depots, in 10 locations. The idea — to have motorists park vehicles near the depots and travel to the central parts of the City by buses — cuts ice with some Bangaloreans, though there are apprehensions about probable increase in travel time.

“It sounds a good start but I’m not sure about how many would accept the concept, considering that people are taking out cars even for travelling alone on short distances,” says Ramesh, consultant with a real estate company.

The programme also proposes to have 25 new parking lots to be set up on lands owned by government agencies and the BMP.

IS IT NOT STILL ON

The question, whether to re-introduce pay-and-park system in Bangalore or not — put to around 20 motorists by Deccan Herald — was met with responses varying from loud and clear ‘yes’ to confused ‘maybe not’. However, most of the respondents said they didn’t mind paying unauthorised attendants as long as they helped them find parking space; and hence, felt the pay-and-park system — though outside the Government ambit — was very much on in many parts of the City. They also listed out measures that could push their case further.

*Open more pay-and-park lots near bus depots

*Identify vacant government lands for parking space

*Automate parking in all business pockets

*Relax tow-away measures in busy areas

*Entrust private players with dedicated parking lots