Date:10/09/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/09/10/stories/2008091057960300.htm

Karnataka - Mysore

‘Multi-level parking lots are the solution’

Shankar Bennur and Muralidhara Khajane

KSRTC is constructing the facility on the premises of the Surburban bus-stand

MCC has proposed to construct two multi-storied parking lots
ACICM says parking fee should not be collected for vehicles parked for less than an hour

MYSORE: In addition to the pay-and-parksystem, people here are of the opinion that the authorities should explore the possibility of constructing multi-storied parking lots in commercial areas for two-wheelers and four-wheelers.

Traffic experts here have stated that multi-level parking lots at important places and a rational parking fee are the solutions to the parking problem.

More than three lakh vehicles ply on Mysore roads every day and about 3,000 vehicles are registered every month, according to statistics from the regional transport office. Vehicle owners are finding it difficult to find parking on the premises of the Suburban bus-stand here. This is in the wake of the closure of the parking zone near Wellington Lodge on Irwin Road, which is few yards away from the bus-stand.

To overcome this problem, the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation, using the funds released under the Jawarharlal Nehru National Renewal Mission (JNNURM) for the development of transport infrastructure, is constructing a multi-level parking lot on the premises of the bus-stand.

The Mysore City Corporation has also proposed to construct two multi-storied parking lots — one in front of the Suburban bus-stand and another near D. Devaraja Urs Road — under Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) basis. Already, the MCC has invited Expression of Interest from agencies to find out the ways and means of carrying out the project. “If the plan is found to be feasible, then the work will be commenced at the earliest after getting the approval of the Council,” sources in the MCC told The Hindu.

Meanwhile, the Association of Concerned and Informed Citizens of Mysore (ACICM) has suggested relocation of the City and Surburban bus-stands to Bannimantap where the KSRTC depot is located. Bannimantap is closer to the city railway station and the roads around the locality are wide for smooth movement of buses, it added.

“When the KSRTC is getting funds under JNNURM, it can make use of it to build state-of-the-art bus terminals. If the bus-stands are relocated, the land can be used for constructing multi-storied parking lots thereby easing 50 per cent of parking problem in the city centres,” ACICM Convener M. Lakshmana said.He said that the KSRTC must evolve futuristic projects since the city, going by the current trends, would continue to grow at a rapid pace thereby creating a demand for upgrading the existing transport infrastructure. The association said it would support introduction of pay-and-parksystem in the city, but on the condition that parking fee should not be collected for vehicles parked for less than an hour. “If vehicles are parked for more than one hour, fee can be collected on an hourly basis,” Mr. Lakshmana said.