Badly designed for exit and entry of vehicles, ill-maintained and lacking facilities like toilets or lifts, PMC parking lots remain half-empty on most days
Badly designed for exit and entry of vehicles, ill-maintained and lacking facilities like toilets or lifts, PMC parking lots remain half-empty on most days
The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has spent Rs 105 crore to construct 15 parking lots over the past 15 years, but these remain heavily underutilised as they remain almost half-empty on weekdays. These parking lots were built near busy roads to reduce parking problems in the area but have turned out to be big failures as a majority of the people still park their vehicles by the roadside.
It is not difficult to find out why vehicle users are showing such lack of interest in these parking lots. MiD DAY found that many of the parking lots were badly designed -- often there was not adequate space for ease of entry and exit for vehicles -- and ill-maintained. Lack of facilities like toilets and lifts was also a deterrent for many people. The operation of all these parking lots has been outsourced by the PMC to private players and most of them have not yet been given the required facilities and maintenance support.
The five-storey Hamal Wada and Haribhau Sane Parking lots at Narayan Peth are more than 55 per cent empty on a typical day, even though they are very close to the business area of Laxmi Road. It is a similar story at the Sambhaji Park Mechanised Parking and J M Road Parking next to McDonald's. Besides these prime parking lots, the remaining facilities are also only half-utilised by vehicle users. As per the Development Plan of 1987, the PMC was supposed to get a total of 52 places in various parts of the city to build parking facilities that would have gone a long way in solving the parking woes of a city that today has more than 28 lakh vehicles.
Hutatma Babu Genu Parking
Capacity: 500 cars, 150 two-wheelers
Located in the busy Mahatma Phule Vegetable Market, the four-storey lot with a terrace is badly constructed. The basement height is just nine feet. Jeeps can hardly enter it and manage to go just to the second and third floors. The basement floor is also littered with cement falling from the ceiling. The facility lacks proper safety measures, as the place is adjoining the 22,000 KW Power Sub-Station of the MSEB. The carriageway and parking lots are poorly maintained. The parking lot also lacks toilets. The top floor does not have a roof to cover vehicles. There is no water drainage system and it is a big problem in the rains. There is garbage dumping at the basement and the PMC Ward office keeps its garbage cart in the lot.
Sambhaji Park Mechanised Parking
Capacity: 80 cars
The project was undertaken on a build-operate-transfer basis and the parking lot was inaugurated on October 15, 2007. The high-tech 20-storey parking lot with a lift has failed to attract people as car owners prefer to park their vehicles on JM Road. Only about 30 cars can be found parked here on weekdays, though the complex is full on Saturday and Sunday, said a person on duty at the complex.
Haribhau Sane Parking Complex
Capacity: 150 cars, 100 two-wheelers
The complex was inaugurated five months ago. Though it is close to the busy Laxmi Road, people hardly park vehicles here. The parking complex is new but badly planned, as the pillars occupy a lot of space and it is a squeeze when the number of cars increases. There is no lift.
Hamalwada Parking Complex 
Capacity: 900 cars, 50 two-wheelers
Located at Narayan Peth near the business area, it has no lift. Ventilation is poor and there are no ceiling fans, making a trip here a hot and sweaty experience. Over 50 cars belonging to nearby residents are seen parked here virtually permanently, creating difficulties for people taking cars up to the third floor and above. The exit gate is also narrow.
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JM Road Parking Lot
Capacity: 20 cars, 400 two-wheelers
The place is open 24 hours but lacks a shelter to protect vehicles from the sun and heavy rain. The parking lot does not have proper marking to segregate two- and four-wheelers. The gate is old and half-broken while a part of a wall has collapsed, posing the threat of vehicle theft.
Varying charges
AT some PMC parking lots, Rs 3 per hour is charged instead of Rs 2. Rates differ at PMC Garden, Drama Halls and for roadside parking. The General Body had made charges a uniform Rs 2 all over. The places where the charge is Rs 3 are Law College road and parking spots in some PMC gardens.
PMC says
Municipal Commissioner Mahesh Zagade agreed that the city should have more parking spaces, but said the basic hurdle was land acquisition problems. He said many issues were pending in court. "We are appointing a special officer to tackle the land acquisition problem. He will monitor the process and give an updated report every week," he said. He also promised to maintain uniform rates at pay-and-park lots on roads and PMC auditoriums.u00a0
'Modified' plan
A PMC General Body meeting recently approved a modified parking plan for the city, which will be sent to the state government for final approval. Vikas Mathkari, BJP corporator, and Ujwal Keskar opposed the proposal, saying the modified parking plan was not new and was prepared in 1981 by the PMC's City Improvements Committee. They said the number of vehicles in the city was 70,000 in 1981 and a completely new plan was now required as vehicles today numbered 28 lakh. "The civic body is not encouraging reduction in the number of vehicles in the city," Mathkari said.
The parking lots
Minerva Theatre: Capacity 1,000/200 (4- and 2-wheelers)
Aryan Theatre: 500/150
Vaikunth Smashan Bhumi: 125/44
Mahajan Bol ufffd125/44
Sangam Ghat- 80/00
Hamalwada: 900/150
PMC Main Building: 900/150
Petit Estate: 800/200
Moledina Hall: 1350/120
Near Alpana Theater: 100/00
Velankar Parking: 700/200
Mechanised Parking: 80/00
J M Road: 400/20
What do you think of the PMC parking compared to private parking in the city?
No, I don't use the PMCu00a0 parking facility. I feel it's safe to park my vehicle in private parkings than PMC parkings.
ufffd Rupali Saha, Kalyani Nagar
Yes, I use the PMC parking facility as I find it cheap. I think there should be more PMC parking lots in the city.
ufffd Shoaib Ali, Viman Nagar
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