Mumbai: Civic body to find out if parking under open spaces is possible

Pic for representation

In order to set up underground parking spaces, the city's Parking Authority plans to first carry out a feasibility study and then get down to accepting proposals from builders, who would be able to avail additional FSI in exchange for constructing the parking lots, as mentioned in the Development Control Regulations (DCR-2034).

Based on the accommodation reservation scheme mentioned in the DCR-2034, builders can avail of additional FSI in exchange for constructing up to two floors of underground parking beneath an open space. This would be applicable to builders who will construct a building on 30 per cent of a plot after consuming its available FSI, and hand over the remaining 70 per cent to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) underneath which the parking lots would be constructed.

The Parking Authority has been preparing an inventory of the existing off-street parking lots in the city, and the underground parking spaces to be constructed in future would be a part of this list. Ramanath Jha, chairman of the Parking Authority said, "Before inviting proposals, we will have to carry out feasibility studies and understand the impact the parking spaces will have on mobility. We will write to the municipal commissioner shortly regarding this."

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Officials from the Parking Authority said that they have completed the survey for off-street parking and were now focusing on on-street parking spaces. The process is taking time since they have to work in close coordination with the Traffic Police as well the BMC's Roads and Traffic Department. "We are carrying out GIS mapping of the on- street parking spaces and figuring out the legal framework of the Parking Authority Act. We also have to look into the current parking fees in Mumbai and compare it with other cities before fixing the rates to ensure that it's a sustainable model," said an official.

Civic chief Praveen Pardeshi said that like all other provisions mentioned in the city's Development Plan, this regulation too would be implemented. "We will look into the provisions regarding underground parking mentioned in the DP and will ask for recommendations from the Parking Authority soon," he said.

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