Metro motorists turn Bengaluru into Parkistan

By Reya Mehrotra

In 2009-10, N Sivasailam, the former MD of BMRCL, held an interplay with a bunch of journalists in Bengaluru ahead of Namma Metro used to be to begin operations. He used to be asked if parking would be made available in any respect Metro stations. Sivasailam used to be adamant: “I will be able to no longer let Bengaluru’s Metro stations turn into parking a lot like they have in Delhi,” he stated, including that the huge parking a lot in Delhi have been being utilized by traders in close by spaces and no longer by commuters.

His reaction and technique made a lot of sense then however appears to be coming again to haunt Bengaluru now.

As Bengaluru’s Metro reach has grown because it started operations within the town, hundreds of thousands of commuters use it every day and that quantity is handiest rising. While the Metro shaves off day-to-day commute time, one of its largest downsides is the lack of parking at many stations. Commuters are forced to park their bikes and vehicles on streets around the Metro station and pray that they’re no longer towed away.

If you’re a Metro commuter and feature rued the lack of parking, Additional Commissioner of Traffic P Harishekaran is in your aspect. Harishekaran is making a case for having ok parking in any respect Metro stations. He must know as a result of most violations of wrongful parking occur near metro stations since no parking is available.

The merits of parking a lot

The Addl CP (Traffic) feels that no longer handiest will parking areas on the Metro station add to first and last mile connectivity, it's going to also boost the use of public delivery. In fact allocation of parking areas will have to be completed on the early stage of Metro station design, says Harishekaran.

Lack of parking is a big issue. Of 78 lakh vehicular inhabitants in Bengaluru, 53 lakh are two-wheelers which facilitate connectivity to Metro and bus stations. Hence, parking will have to be made available for people in any respect Metro stations

— P Harisekaran, Addl Commissioner of Police (Traffic)

The Addl CP (Traffic) feels that the lack of parking areas in any respect Metro stations has been resulting in carelessly parked vehicles on roads adjoining to the stations, resulting in traffic bottlenecks. “Out of the more than a few traffic related problems that the traffic police division is dealing with, lack of parking is a big issue. Currently out of the 78 lakh vehicular inhabitants in Bengaluru, 53 lakh are two-wheelers, which facilitate first and last mile connectivity to more than a few Metro and bus stations. Hence parking will have to be made available for people in any respect Metro stations so that they can park their two wheelers safely and take public delivery,” he says.

The traffic police want those facilities so that traffic may also be managed better. Parking in no-parking zones is the most common issue that the traffic police take care of every day. In 2018 alone, BTP booked 10,86,844 instances for wrongful parking and 32,423 instances for parking on the footpath. The traffic police also say that most of the wrongly parked vehicles are found near metro stations.

Currently, out of the 42 metro stations, nine locations on the Purple line (East West corridor) and 12 locations on the Green line (North South corridor) have two-wheeler parking whilst, 4 wheeler parking is available at seven locations on the Purple line and 10 locations on the Green line

Parking a lot are too few

Currently, out of the 42 metro stations within the town, parking areas for 2 wheelers were made available at nine locations on the crimson line (East West corridor) and at 12 locations on the green line (North South corridor) whilst parking for 4 wheelers has been made available at seven locations on the crimson line and at 10 locations on the green line.

Talking to Bangalore Mirror, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) CPRO BL Yashavanth Chavan says, “Currently, parking is available at Baiyappanahalli station, Mysore Road station, Magadi Road station on the East-West corridor and at Yelachenahalli station, National College station, Mahalakshmi metro station, Jalahalli metro station and Nagasandra metro stations, to name a couple of. In future, if different parking areas are planned right through construction, we can notify the general public.”

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Not all stations want parking

Professor Ashish Verma from Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Science (IISc) believes that no longer all metro stations want parking areas and whether to incorporate a car parking zone or no longer must be strategically made up our minds right through the design stage. “Stations will have to be designed in some way that they complement the use of public delivery and facilities akin to park and experience. Parking facilities in any respect Metro stations would encourage the use of non-public vehicles as people gets a possibility to park their vehicles. Through the current gadget of bicycles and two wheelers for public use, people can use them for first and last mile connectivity. To reach congested spaces, commuters can use public delivery. It is not sensible for Metro stations like MG Road and Trinity Circle to have parking a lot as those spaces are already congested. In fact parking at such stations which lie within the middle of town defeats the purpose of public delivery and the park and experience facilities. The bus feeder services will have to mandatorily be made available at Metro stations that lie on the outskirts of town.”

He says that parking at Metro stations in different countries has been strategically planned and made available handiest where it’s wanted and no longer in congested spaces. Earlier this month, BMRCL launched Bounce, keyless scooters for easy and affordable commute, to provide last mile connectivity in any respect Metro stations. Bicycles are also available in any respect Metro stations to enhance last mile connectivity. Apart from this, Bangalore Metropolitan Corporation Limited (BMTC) too has introduced Metro feeder buses this yr, masking 17 Metro stations at a frequency of 15-30 minutes and working 1981 journeys with 159 schedules.