Diwali shopping this weekend at Pondy Bazaar may not afford Hasslefree as a parking lot in T Nagar continued despite a multi-crore project to solve it over the past three years.
The sad truth is that parking management in the area remains bad despite progressive projects such as Pedestrian Plaza, a parking management system on the road and a multilevel car parking system that is widely proud of.
Every season of the celebration, The Greater Chennai Corporation and the traffic police block some arterial roads or make it one direction to facilitate traffic jam.
Pondy Bazaar will be made into a one-way road this year to make it easier for buyers.
“To make it easier for congestion, after Diwali this year, the traffic police will ban the parking lot in Pondy Bazaar to ensure that the multi-level car parking facilities are fully occupied,” said an official.
This facility has a parking space for 222 cars and 400 two wheels, and by official accounts, less utilized.
Other steps in the pipe include 30 exclusive parking spaces in the city with a parking lot and a multi-level car park area on request.
Two consultants, who are trying to find vacant land in the northern and south of the city, have been defeated.
After the parking policy is implemented, the apartment complex near a busy market hub must provide room for parking cars.
This is intended to eliminate the need to park the car on a busy road.
Commercial companies can bind with schools to use vacant land, plot and offices that are not used as parking lots after 6pm during rush hour, said an official.
Those who use zones without parking to place their vehicle will be very punished.
City planners believe parking fees must be determined by the value of land in certain areas.
The cost must be higher in festive days, similar to dynamic prices.
Vidhya Mohankumar, collective founder of urban design, told TOI that city parking problems can be resolved only if strict policy measures are enforced and premium parking fees are imposed.
“Free parking must be stopped because it is a land use of the dead government.” An official who is part of the project said the Civic Agency also plans to develop cycling infrastructure and multi-capital transportation models.
“We are working on a strategy for first reducing cars on the streets by providing more infrastructure for cycles, pedestrians, and connecting all public transportation facilities.
This will be done by developing more paths, cycling with friendly streets and Providing easy access to public transportation, “the official said.