Prayers for Parking Space……Lol !

July 22, 2014

Source- Unknown

Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under Fun, Humor & Cartoons, Leisure

An app to palliate parking woes

July 15, 2014

How many times have we gone around circles trying to find that prized parking slot for our vehicles? What if there was a way to find out where there is a parking spot ready, or even better, book it in advance?

Pparke, a parking analytics platform, has been recently launched to help parking space providers and owners such as malls, universities, airports, municipal corporations as well as vehicle owners. The concept makes parking as easy as booking a movie ticket online or recharging your phone credit.

The brainchild of Pristech Analytics, founded by the husband-wife duo of Shampa Ganguly, an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIMB), and engineer Pritam Ganguly in August 2013, the company is being incubated at the NS Raghavan Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning (NSRCEL) at IIMB.

Ms. Ganguly explained that the Cloud-based concept – available on the Google Store as an app for download as well as on the Internet – is mainly for parking availability information in any part of the city.

“You pay in advance and reserve a parking slot for yourself. Right now we are charging the same amount as the parking provider charges. Some malls have already registered with us and we have around 200 people using it so far. We plan to do this in schools and offices which are closed on weekends, especially in the heart of the city,” she said.

Not only this, the company is also in talks with the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike for partnership, and also with the Traffic Police to implement a card system for pay and park.

Ms. Ganguly also said the app would be applicable to four-wheelers only, as of now, and components such as no parking zones have not been factored in so far.

sources: The Hindu

Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under Parking, Smart City, Spot Light

Unclaimed cars occupy Asaf Ali Road parking

December 2, 2013

Hindustan Times (Delhi)

Ritam Halder

Vehicle owners were sent notices after HT highlighted the number of cars lying abandoned at the underground parking lot.

NEW DELHI: No revamp is in sight for the Asaf Ali Road underground parking lot near Delite Cinema, which has emerged as a den for vehicles parked for ages.

HT PHOTOAbandoned cars at the Asaf Ali Road parking lot.In August, after Hindustan Times had pointed out the woes of this lot where cars remain parked for months, if not years, the officials of the North Delhi Municipal Corporation had sent notices to the respective vehicle owners.

ADC (RP Cell) Ravideep Singh Chahar had written to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) to find out whether any of these “abandoned” vehicles were involved in criminal cases or have been reported stolen. Respective vehicle owners were also notified.

“The transport department was given a list of 264 abandoned vehicles to ascertain their owners. It responded with a list of 193 vehicles along with the names of their owners. We had sent notices to the respective owners with a 15-day deadline to respond. None of them have responded,” a senior North body official told Hindustan Times, adding that the NCRB, too, is yet to reply and inform if any of these vehicles were stolen.

“The NCRB has been sent a reminder, too, but there is no response,” he said. These unclaimed vehicles take up almost 25% of the three levels of this underground parking lot, which can accommodate 1,400 vehicles.

The letter written to the NCRB states: “As per information given by the parking contractor and other concerned authority, a list of vehicles lying unclaimed in the parking site for so many years was sent to the Commissioner Transport Department of Delhi for giving details of registration of such vehicles…. The North Delhi Municipal Corporation wants to dispose of these unclaimed vehicles after issuance of notice to owners of these vehicles and with the consent of the Police.”

Source-http://paper.hindustantimes.com

Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under Parking

Lack of clearances delays infrastructure projects

October 16, 2013

Pavan MV, TNN |

BANGALORE : Inspection of ongoing infrastructure projects is springing surprises at every turn , with decision makers finding that basic approvals haven’t been sought.On Tuesday , Bangalore development minister R Ramalinga Reddy found that the BDA requires 3.2 acrestocomplete the Nayandahalli flyover near Mysore Road which has been hanging fire for two years .Shockingly , the BDA commenced construction without completing land acquisition . The construction of the 960-metre long flyover began in 2010 and was scheduled to be completed by 2013 . Even if BDA gets the required land now , it needs five months to completethe project .Theland belongs to over 40 people .

Last week, during the inspection of the Road Over Bridge near Byappanahalli , mayor Sathyanarayana found that BBMP had commenced work on two ROBs at Byappanahalli and Jakkur without completing land acquisition .

The delay in the Nayanhahalli flyover has become a huge problem for commuters on Mysore Road due to frequent traffic jams . Alongside , work on the Metro rail is on and is adding to the gridlock .

Ramalinga Reddy said , “Since the property is situated on Mysore Road , its value is quite high and the owners expectusto pay the market value . We’ll sort out the issue soon .”

Metro corridor

After inspecting the Metro corridor work , Ramalinga Reddy said the National College Metro corridor will be completed by March 2014, and the train will run from Byappanahalli station to Mysore Roadstation by 2014.He also assured that Metro services from Peenya to Malleswaram would be operational by this year-end and work from Kaggalipura to City Market will be completed by 2015.

Pradeep Singh Kharola , MD, BMRC, said there is a proposal to concretize the road below the Metro corridor from MG Road station to Byappanahalli station . Asked about bad roads below the Metro corridors , he said road work cannot be taken up till Metro work is on .

On parking

BBMP is gearing up to provide parking for Metro commuters. BS Sathyanarayana said BBMP will identity properties belonging to it near all Metro stations. “Ramalinga Reddy has told us to utilize funds under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission scheme for this project,” he said.

Source-http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under Uncategorized

Illegal parking takes a big bite out of busy Kochi Broadway

September 24, 2013

(The Hindu–Unauthorised parking on Broadway has made life difficult for the public and traders. Photo: Thulasi Kakkat)

The name might have made sense a few years ago.

But today, calling one of the oldest and busiest business centres in the city Broadway is laughable as unauthorised parking has shrunk the road.

“It should be renamed narrow way,” remarked Joseph D’Silva, a member of the Broadway Shop Owners’ Association (BSOA) formed to find a solution to the commercial hub’s parking troubles.

Mr. D’Silva said two-wheelers parked in multiple rows on the left side of Broadway made life difficult for the public and traders alike. He said Broadway had become congested because employees of a shopping complex, sandwiched between Shanmugham Road and Broadway, parked their vehicles on the road.

“Employees of the shops in this trading complex have made Broadway the de facto parking space for their two-wheelers. This has cramped the 250-metre stretch of Broadway right from its entry point,” he said.

Complaint lodged

BSOA has lodged complaints with the City Police Commissioner and the Assistant Commissioner of Police, Traffic, seeking a permanent solution to this problem.

P.A. Sageer, president, BSOA, warned that shop owners would be forced to resort to protests if authorities concerned failed to address the issue.

“The business in shops facing the illegal parking area has taken a severe beating. Our efforts to sort out the issue with owners of the shopping complex have proved futile,” he said.

K.S. Baby Vinod, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Traffic West, said the police regulated parking at Broadway this festive season by deploying additional men and conducting bike patrol.

“The idea is to continue the arrangement and restrict parking to just one row and that too where space is available. Declaring Broadway a no-parking zone is the possible permanent solution. But it draws opposition from a section of traders,” he said.

In fact, the Ernakulam Merchants Union, now rechristened Kerala Merchants Union, along with the City Corporation had made Broadway a no-parking area a few years back. But that experiment fizzled out.

Gopal Shenoy, general secretary, Kerala Merchants’ Union, said the experiment facilitated smooth progress of trade along Broadway. However, the adjoining Cloth Bazaar Road and Market Road became clogged with parked vehicles and a section of traders there suffered.

Later a section of traders in Broadway allowed customers to park their two-wheelers while making purchases, but this led to customers parking their vehicles and cramping the road.

Mr. Shenoy said the police seemed to be considering the possibility of bringing back a parking ban in Broadway.

“In that case, we will ask for a similar ban on Cloth Bazaar Road and Market Road to avoid a repeat of the past,” he said.

Kerala Merchants’ Union is all set to hold a meeting with the police and BSOA to find a permanent solution to the parking woes of Broadway.

Source-http://www.thehindu.com

Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under Complain, Parking

Where do I park my car?

September 13, 2013

Ananya Bhardwaj , Shikha Sharma , Pragya Kaushika

A thinly populated neighbourhood with just two cars. That was Rajendra Nagar in the good old days, reminisces septuagenarian D N Narang, who has been living in the locality since 1954. Elsewhere in the capital, few cars would be parked on the roads; there was no need to.Today, at last count the number of four-wheelers in Delhi had crossed the 23-lakh mark with little space to park them and not even a semblance of a parking policy in sight. In Narang’s colony, there are at least three scraps a week over parking spaces; the locality’s serene aura now relegated to the deep recesses of his memory.

He recalls a time when not many people had cars. “We used to have single-storey houses that were actually bigger compared to today’s standards. In the entire neighbourhood, there were only two cars. Now, the colony has 500 plots on which there are 1,400 flats, each with at least two cars. People with bigger flats have three cars. Every other day, we intervene in fights over parking spaces,” Narang said.

SAME STORY

It’s the same story all over the city.

A few km away in Karol Bagh, enterprising residents have found a way to profit from the paucity of parking space in the city. Here, residents ‘rent’ out parking spots inside residential complexes to outsiders. “There’s a huge demand for parking spots in the area. Fights break out continuously over right of parking. In such a scenario, first we ensure that there is enough parking space for our own vehicles. And if there is space left to accommodate others’ cars, what’s the harm in letting it out?” asked Neeraj, a local resident who lives in one of the government flats in the area.

“Government residential complexes usually have a lot of space. So I let it out to people who need it, but to mostly those who live nearby or whom I know,” he added.

Neeraj claimed he does not charge money for letting others park their cars in his colony, but a lot of residents do. Like Manish Singh, another local resident, who even advertises the availability of parking space on a website. “Have a huge parking space in Karol Bagh area (near Khalsa College). Genuine people may contact after 6 pm on any day (sic),” reads one advertisement.

RENT A SPOT

The deal is simple. For a sum between Rs 3,000 and Rs 5,000, one can book a parking spot outside flats for a month by getting in touch with local residents. Some even ask for a two-month advance. “Almost everyone in the locality does it and claim to know the people to whom they let out the parking spots. But the truth is, not everybody is a known customer. In this locality of nine-10 houses, you’ll find 40 cars parked in the evening,” he claimed.

In residential areas, particularly those next to commercial hubs, the parking problem — and with it traffic congestion — intensifies. “My family lives in a three-storeyed house and we have six cars. People who come to the South Extension market park their cars in front of residents’ houses and go shopping for hours. Consequently, fights are common here,” Sudhir Handa of South Extension Part-II said.

NO CLEAR POLICY

Similarly, Hauz Khas village, on a typical weekend, turns into a nightmare for visitors and residents with cars parked cheek by jowl.

“During weekends, it’s wise to come down to the village before 8 pm. After that, it’s impossible to park here. Then, you usually park a kilometre or two away and walk till the village, or park outside the residential apartments. But that’s hardly safe or convenient. So, we strike a deal of sorts with the local security guard of a nearby apartment. We pay him Rs 100-200. For that sum, he not only parks your car within the apartment complex but also keeps an eye on it,” Debjit Mitra, who visits the village frequently, said.

On the road leading up to the village, such attendants are easy to spot. While some may offer their services only when asked, others are upfront. Though the Hauz Khas Welfare Association is not aware of the practice, they do admit that indiscriminate parking outside their homes, especially on weekends, has turned into a nuisance.

“The situation has gone out of control. People visiting restaurants in the village park their vehicles right outside our homes. Some even drink and create mischief. The problem has become so acute during weekends that we are even thinking of filing a petition in court,” S L Jain, chairman, Hauz Khaz, K & P blocks, said.

Without a clear parking policy on the part of the government, the problem has reached alarming proportions in the city.

http://www.indianexpress.com

Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under Parking, Policy

Parking chaos, garbage on pavements in Bhikaji Cama Place

September 5, 2013

Hindustan Times (Delhi)

Garima Vohra / PRATEEK VERMA / HT PHOTO

As it is, those who have their offices in Bhikaji Cama Place are facing problems due to a crunch in the parking space. The pavements, the service lanes and the backlanes are being used for parking. But at present, there is another problem that the people visiting the area or those who have their offices in the area are facing.

( (Garbage is dumped in the areas meant for parking.)

Most of the parking space along the main road is being wasted because garbage is being dumped on the pavements. “Since the garbage is dumped in the middle of the parking space, a lot of space is wasted. Some people come in early just to get parking space here. But when they come here, all they see is garbage,” says BK Sirohi, a shop owner.

There are heaps of garbage on the pavements and the stink is unbearable. “Cleanliness in the area was never a priority with the civic agency. Funds for the cleanliness of the area are never utilised. As for the contributions made by shopkeepers and office owners, theyareneversufficientasmanydo not pay up,” says Santosh Mohan, who works in an office here.

Adds Milind Galhotra, another shopkeeper, “The complex has been in a mess for a long time. As it is a commercial complex, there is no vote bank. So, the upkeep of the area is not on the priority list of the civic agency. As parking is a lucrative business, the parking cell is active. One can see that parking is allowed in almost every lane around the complex.”

There is no registered association in the area. A lot of people have tried to clear the pavements with their own efforts but to no avail.“It is waste of space and we are left to suffer. Some booths in the area are redundant. They should be removed because every inch of space is precious and can be put to some use,” says Sunita Kaula, an officegoer.

“I am not aware of the situation but will surely take corrective measures and get the area cleaned,” says AK Singh, sanitation officer, South Delhi Municipal Corporation.

Source-http://paper.hindustantimes.com

Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under Parking

Finally, multi-level parking opens at Karol Bagh today

September 5, 2013

Ritam Halder , Press Trust of India

NEW DELHI: After a three-year delay, a three-level automated stack parking lot will open in the busy Karol Bagh on Thursday.The facility involves a mechanical lift that stacks vehicle at different levels.

The parking lot, located on Sat Bhirawan Road in Karol Bagh, was to be completed before the Commonwealth Games in 2010. But it missed several deadlines since 2009, when the plan was conceptualised.

The facility is expected to de-congest Karol Bagh — a prominent market area in the Capital — that faces a severe parking problem.

Local councillor Rajesh Bhatia said the new parking lot would help tackle the problem of congestion in Karol Bagh. “This project was being delayed for the past four years because of apathy on the part of civic body officials,” Bhatia said.

The parking rates at the new lot will be R10 for two hours and R10 for every subsequent two hours. The maximum charge for a whole day is R50 per day. The rates are a little higher than other surface parking lots run by the civic bodies. Vehicles at other municipal surface parking lots can be parked for R10 for 10 hours and R20 for 24 hours.

Experts reacted with caution when asked about the efficacy of the new system to address parking woes in the Capital.

Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director for research and advocacy of the Centre for Science and Environment, said a lot of factors needed to be considered before taking up any innovation. “There are several technologies available. The site and its approach play an important role in the usefulness of a parking innovation. The issue of lack of space is taken care of with this technology but it’s expensive,” Roychowdhury said.

The North Delhi Municipal Corporation has around 120 parking sites under its jurisdiction, of which 62 were tendered a few months back. A survey has been done for 100 other sites, of which 25 have been sent for traffic clearance. It also has four multi-level parking sites.

http://paper.hindustantimes.com

Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under Default, Multi-level parking, Parking

Shortage of traffic cops leads to fewer challans

August 17, 2013

Aditya Dev, TNN |

GURGAON: Severe shortage of traffic cops seems to be the reason behind the number of fines issued for traffic violations in Gurgaon taking a nosedive this year. Registering a 22% decline, traffic cops issued only 1,94,202 challans in the first seven months (January- July) of 2013 compared to 2,49,727 in the corresponding period of 2012.While the city has close to 300 traffic cops on duty, at least 700 more are required to keep an eye on the increasing number of violators. Out of the 300 cops on duty, there are few constables and head constables, who are actually responsible for managing the traffic.Traffic cops issued 55,525 less challans in 2013 (January-July) compared to the corresponding period in 2012 with a considerable decline in the number of challans issued for wrong parking, driving without helmet and not wearing seat belt.

While wrong parking continues to be the major traffic problem, the number of challans issued for the offence has dropped by almost 50% this year. Similarly, there is nearly one-third decrease in the number of challans issued for driving without helmet and seat belt.

Parking is a serious issue in Gurgaon with the failure of the civic agencies to provide adequate parking spaces. Whether it is MG Road, Golf Course Road or Udyog Vihar, vehicle owners jostle for space to park their vehicles. In most cases, they are forced to park on road sides. Even challans issued for traffic offences like speeding, use of tinted glasses on four-wheelers, wrong side driving, among others, were less compared to last year.

The Supreme Court had banned the use of tinted glasses on vehicles in May last year. The traffic police conducted a special drive to implement the Apex Court directions and fined 7,359 vehicle owners between January and July, 2012. This year, the figure has reduced to 1,586 for the corresponding period of time.

On the other hand, traffic police have tightened the noose on autorickshaw drivers for rash driving and also on commuters who do not follow traffic signals. During special drives, cops are issuing 300-400 challans against auto drivers for various traffic offences.

The number of challans issued for not following traffic signals has jumped from 12,278 in 2012 to 21,622 this year.

Source-http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under Traffic Control

Higher fines on cards for parking violations

August 14, 2013

PUNE: Parking in no-parking zones or straying into bus rapid transit system (BRTS) lanes in Pimpri Chinchwad may soon attract heavy penalties ranging from Rs 1,000 to Rs 5,000, with a new proposal from the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) awaiting the nod.

The traffic police and the civic body will share the fine amount equally if the proposal comes through.

The civic administration has tabled the proposal for the city improvement committee’s (CIC) approval. The proposal explains how motorists park their vehicles haphazardly on and along roads, obstructing vehicular

traffic and causing congestion. It states how the traffic police have the right to impose fines on such errant individuals under the Motor Vehicles Act, but the fine amount is significantly low to act as a deterrent for repeat offences.

With rising vehicle numbers, such offences are only expected to increase. The traffic police has been long demanding that the PCMC grant powers to them on the lines of Pune Municipal Corporation, under Section 208 of the Maharashtra Municipal Act, which allows them to impose fines on all vehicles that are parked without authorisation, parked in no-parking areas and are driven in BRTS lanes. The Pune civic body had granted such powers to the traffic police in 2004.

The Pimpri Chinchwad civic general body had approved a resolution in August 2009 to grant powers to the traffic police to take action against only commercial vehicles. The traffic department has been seeking the powers to take action against all types of vehicles. The approval of the city improvement committee, standing committee and general body are necessary to grant such powers to the traffic police.

A PCMC official said that the proposal was kept pending by CIC, since its members have sought more information from the traffic police.

Vikas Patil, president, Paryavaran Sanvardhan Samiti said, “The fine is not a solution for disciplining people; it might increase corruption. The civic body must remove all vehicle repair, washing and selling centres located on pavements. Banks, ATMs and shops facing roads must make adequate parking arrangements for their customers to prevent roadside parking. Basements must be used only for parking vehicles.”

Source-http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/

Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under Parking, Traffic Management