Not ‘smart’, Chandigarh city parking lots remain unattended, cramped

Tribune News Service

Sandeep Rana

Chandigarh, September 20

A lack of or complete absence of attendants to guide visitors, haphazardly parked vehicles and mismanagement, it’s the same old story at the city’s paid parking lots despite the civic body’s efforts to turn these into “smart” facilities.

The parking lots at Sectors 17, 22, 34 and 35 and on Madhya Marg remain clogged most of the time, thanks to parking attendants who keep letting vehicles in whether there is space or not. Once inside, car drivers get stuck on failing to find any space. With no attendant to guide them, the drivers are left with no option but to park their vehicles haphazardly, which further compounds the problem.

Plethora of problems

• Parking lots at Sectors 17, 22, 34 and 35 and on Madhya Marg remain clogged most of the time
• Parking attendants keep letting vehicles in whether there is space or not
• With no one to guide them, drivers left with no option but to park vehicles haphazardly
• Two-wheelers are often seen parked at spaces meant for four-wheelers or vice-versa

No contractor at present

City’s Municipal Corporation is managing parking lots at present since the contract of two agencies expired early this year

Resolution soon, Will hire agency

All issues regarding parking will be resolved as we are soon going to hire an agency, hich will run the parking lots in a professional manner. — Anindita Mitra, MC Commissioner

“It’s so mismanaged. They let traffic in from both sides – entry and exit — causing jams. There is no one to monitor once they charge the parking fee and give you the slip. Motorists are left to fend for themselves amid chaos. The contractor is supposed provide this basic service of guiding the drivers, but no one cares,” says a trader.

It has been observed that at some parking lots there is no attendant at the exit counters during the late hours. “There is no security of the vehicle even after paying fee. There has to be an attendant at the exit counter till the vehicles are allowed to park at the lots,” said Tarsem Singh, a resident of Sector 38.

There is no one to ensure that vehicles are parked at the designated spots. Two-wheelers are often seen parked at spaces meant for four-wheelers or vice-versa. Also, there is parking space reserved for physically challenged persons, but that too remains occupied by others.

Besides, none of the staff members is ever seen in uniform. “If the attendants wear uniform with identity card on it, we can identify them and seek their help,” said Davesh, a visitor to Sector 22 parking lot.

Road safety activist Harman Sidhu, said, “You are on your own in the parking lots. The entry counters of some facilities like the one in Sector 22 in front of the ISBT, Sector 17, have become choking points. To collect parking fee, the attendants stop vehicles at the entry and it leads to a long queue of vehicles on the main road, which causes traffic congestion.”

At present, the MC is running the parking lots since parking contract of two agencies got over early this year.

MC Commissioner Anindita Mitra said, “These issues will be resolved as we are soon going to hire an agency, which will run the parking lots in a professional manner. We have finalised the rates and within a fortnight, we are going to invite request for proposal for the same.”