PA R K I N G SOLUTION

PA R K I N G SOLUTION
Don’t sweat over parking of vehicles. BBMP is planning multi-level parking lots in six areas. Each lot will have six floors with semi-automated parking system
Aarthi R | TNN

Bangalore: Every day, about 800 vehicles are added to Bangalore’s already congested roads. But do we have enough parking space? Many arterial roads are already thinned down by vehicles parked on the sides. Pavements are perpetually occupied by twowheelers and some earmarked parking lots are always seen full. Where do we go from here?
The civic stake holders have talked about a onepoint solution to the parking woes, but never has it fructified. The multi-level parking units that the authorities have been harping on for several years, may finally see some light with the BBMP clearing decks for implementation of the project.
Bangalore will have several multi-level parking lots coming up at major commercial centres by the end of January 2009. These parking plazas will charge you less than most private parking lots in the city.
Six main areas have been identified by the BBMP for the project — two places in Gandhinagar, opposite Sukh Sagar hotel and in the old central jail premises; Russell Market area in Shivajinagar; behind LIC building near Town Hall; Flower Market area in Gandhi Bazar and opposite Surana College campus in Kengeri Satellite Town.
The mechanized system proposed under the Swiss Challenge Method on BOOT mode looks at the cellar as well as the elevated models of parking. BBMP officials told The Times of India that the concession draft agreement has been sent to testing consultant Torsteel Research Foundation of India in Bangalore for evaluation. Once it is done, the palike will be in a position to call for tenders, most probably by September.
These parking lots will either be fully merchanized or semi-automated, said BBMP engineers. Built on the PPP mode, all the lots will come up on vacant BBMP lands. The technical, structural and design aspects of the project will be taken care of by the private parties.
The construction will take nearly six months. The one proposed at the old central jail complex in Gandhinagar will accommodate 500 two-wheelers and 1,000 four wheelers. Most of these will be exclusively for parking while two or three might have five per cent allocated for commercial establishments.
However, due to limited availability of BBMP land in areas like M G Road and Commercial Street, this system might have a ‘no entry’ in these areas for sometime. The parking lots will come up on a 500 to 9,680 sq mt land and will have 50 to 500 sq mt area for commercial development. The parking plazas will have capacity varying from 50 to 500 slots for two-wheelers and 100 to 1,000 for fourwheelers.
Main features
Multi-level parking with not more than six floors Fully mechanized or semi-automated parking system with less human labour
Advantages
Very little/no commercial establishments (less than 10 per cent of total area) Ample space for both two-wheelers and cars Parking fee comparatively less than most private parking lots Less crowding on roads in commercial areas
Challenges
The main challenge is limited land availability in most areas