To ease congestion, 20 parking lots mooted for Shimla

Shimla, June 30

In order to ease parking woes, Shimla Municipal Corporation is set to construct around 20 parking lots at a cost of approx Rs 16 crore. They will have the capacity to accommodate as many as 1,500 vehicles.

Relief from traffic woes

• Six multi-storey parking lots are already nearing completion — near IGMC, near SDA Complex, Kasumpti, Vikasnagar, Totu and near Auckland tunnel
• At present, the town has a parking capacity to accommodate around 20,000 vehicles which includes all the big and small parking lots as well as yellow line parking spots

The Municipal Corporation has asked the state government to bear 75 per cent of the construction cost, while the rest of the 25 per cent cost will be spent by the Municipal Corporation.

The civic body has also identified areas where these proposed parking lots are expected to be built.

Municipal Commissioner Bhupinder Attri said a proposal had been sent to the state government and the construction work of these parking lots would be initiated as soon as the corporation would be granted approval by the government.

He also said six multi-storey parking lots are already nearing completion near IGMC, one near SDA Complex, Kasumpti, Vikasnagar, Totu and near Auckland Tunnel which would provide parking facility to around 2,000 vehicles.

At present, the town has a parking capacity to accommodate around 20,000 vehicles which includes all the big and small parking lots as well as yellow line parking spots. Due to lack of enough parking space, tourists as well as locals face a lot of inconvenience in finding parking spots for their vehicles, due to which many people park their vehicles on the roadsides which obstructs vehicular traffic.