In the second part of our campaign to reclaim the city’s footpaths, mid-day looks at one of the key reasons vehicle owners end up parking on sidewalks
For a city with more than 23 lakh vehicles, the BMC has 85 pay-and-park facilities, which can accommodate a grand total of 12,040 vehicles at any given time.
Where do the rest go? Some in parking lots in residential and office buildings, but most end up parked on the roads and footpaths, bringing us to the second part of mid-day’s campaign to reclaim the city’s sidewalks.
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Vehicles parked in BMC-owned parking facilities near Crawford Market. Pics/Bipin Kokate
Experts say the lack of enough parking facilities is a key reason for the city’s footpaths being taken over by vehicles, and the numbers back that claim. The 85 BMC-owned facilities combined can hold a mere 8,501 four-wheelers and 3,539 two-wheelers. Of these, 74 are in the island city, leaving the western and eastern suburbs with a total of 11.
Near Eros Cinema in Churchgate. At 47, BMC’s A Ward, which these areas are part of, has the highest number of such parking lots in the city
Thus, in the eastern suburbs, from Kurla all the way to Mulund, the BMC has just four parking lots, with a combined capacity of 124 four-wheelers and 63 two-wheelers. The situation in the western suburbs, from Bandra to Dahisar, is only marginally better, with seven parking sites that can accommodate 634 four-wheelers and 350 two-wheelers.
Stalled
The BMC had proposed 58 multi-level parking lots in the city, of which only one is operational, 55 are under construction and two have been constructed but are yet to be made operational.
The lots are supposed to be constructed by private developers on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis, wherein the developer operates the parking lot for five years before handing it over to the BMC.
The BMC’s lone operational multi-level parking lot is in Apollo Mills compound in Mahalaxmi and the other two that have been constructed are at Kanjurmarg and Saki Vihar (Kurla).
According to sub-engineer Anil Satav of the BMC’s Roads and Traffic department, the three constructed parking lots can accommodate 1,434 four-wheelers in all and the 55 others will provide space for parking another 42,664 vehicles a number that is far from enough, according to experts. Additional Municipal Commissioner SVR Srinivas and Chief Engineer (roads and traffic) Ashok Pawar were unavailable for comment.
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