BMC, traffic cops to crack down on roadside parking in flooding spots

BMC boss tells his traffic department to coordinate with the traffic police to clear spaces near flooding spots on the arterial roads and near public lots

The Brihamumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) chief Pravin Pardeshi wants to simultaneously clear the city's traffic menace and increase the civic administration's revenue, starting this monsoon. During a meeting on Friday regarding pre-monsoon preparedness, Pardeshi asked BMC's traffic department and the traffic police to coordinate and clear parking on roads, as well as come up with a plan to encourage motorists to park in public parking lots.

Pardeshi has been keen on increasing BMC's revenue by implementing parking charges rigorously. Seeing how public parking lots (PPL) are not being regularly used by motorists, who prefer parking on roads instead, he wants the traffic police and BMC's traffic department to come up with a model to encourage those being fined for illegal parking to park at their nearest PPL instead.

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Public parking lots are not being regularly used by motorists, who prefer parking on roads instead. Representational Pic

A civic official said, "Parked vehicles end up affecting the smooth movement of traffic, especially during monsoon. Thus, the commissioner has instructed the traffic department to coordinate with the traffic police to clear spaces near flooding spots, on arterial roads and mainly, near PPLs. This would also add to BMC's revenue." BMC charges Rs 60 per hour for parking a four-wheeler in plush locations such as Colaba, Fort and Malabar Hill. Officials said the move will also help in controlling the traffic chaos that takes place during monsoon, as it will allow arterial roads to be wider for the movement of 32 lakh vehicles in the city. Pravin Padwal, additional commissioner of police, who attended the meeting, said, "There was a discussion regarding the parking issue. We want people to use the public parking lots, so our action will be concentrated in areas around such lots. With the monsoon nearing, flooding spots too will be cleared of any illegal parking."

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There are currently 91 on-street parking sites and 47 off-street or constructed parking lots in the city. Motorists are charged with a hefty penalty if they park within 500 metres of PPLs. For the monsoon, BMC would be sending a list of PPL locations as well as flooding spots so that action can be taken to ensure the roads are wider and traffic jams are reduced.

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