The Hindu : Multistorey car parking proposed near Panagal Park

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Mar 27, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Tamil Nadu-Chennai

Multistorey car parking proposed near Panagal Park

By Karthik Subramanian

CHENNAI MARCH 26. The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) was considering the setting up of an `automated ramp car parking system' near the Panagal Park in T.Nagar, the Deputy Mayor, `Karate' R. Thiagarajan, told residents at a meeting held at Ranganathan Street today.

Mr. Thiagarajan, who participated in the meeting organised by welfare associations to declare Ranganathan Street a "model shopping area", said the multi-storeyed parking facility being planned at a cost of Rs. 24 crores would come up in the area in front of the Panagal Park, where vehicles were being parked now.

It is learnt that the proposal was taken up at the CMDA Board meeting today. The automated car parking facility has been proposed as an eight-storeyed structure, which will house a commercial complex for the first three floors. The project will be taken up by a private company on a build, operate and transfer scheme, and after the allotted period the facility will be taken over by the Chennai Corporation.

Through this, the government agency hopes to address the increasing demand for the parking area in T.Nagar.

Some of the participants at the meeting wondered what sort of parking fee collection the Corporation would resort to. "Being a commercial area, the Government can consider asking the commercial establishments in and around Panagal Park, with individual turnover running into several crores, to foot the parking fee. After all majority of the traffic in the region is due to the shops," a welfare association member said.

Apprehension

There is also serious apprehension that the aesthetics as well as the dynamics of the Panagal Park area will be in jeopardy, once the facility for parking of "400 cars" comes up.

It may be recalled that welfare associations have been suggesting that the existing Corporation building on the Theagaraya Road intersection, which also houses a police station, be converted into a car park-cum-commercial complex. This will enable smoother flow of vehicles to the complex from both G.N.Chetty Road and the Theagaraya Road.

During the previous Council, there was a plan to convert the Panagal Park itself into a commercial area, with shops and a car park. This proposal was given up in the face of sharp protests from environmentalists.

While the CMDA has today reported to have given its "green signal" to the ramp style parking idea, urban planners point out that it was the same agency which allowed proliferation of deviated commercial constructions in the Panagal Park area, thereby throwing orderly growth into chaos, and generating more traffic.

Unlike the "polluter pays" principle, further appropriation of public space is proposed, to put up a parking infrastructure, which will in essence be paid for by the public, while there was no tax on those who generate the disproportionately high traffic in T.Nagar, by opening commercial establishments in violation of building rules, the planners point out.

"Thus, the average tax payer is forced to indirectly subsidise the flagrantly violative constructions, which were tacitly aided by the same planning agency, by ceding land and suffering more congestion," a senior planner said.

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