The Indian Express              27.12.2013

Pay 300% more to park in ‘popular’ areas

Vehicle owners will have to brace for a 300 per cent hike in the cost of parking in popular areas of the city. The BMC's statutory improvement committee passed a parking policy which proposed a Rs 60 per hour charge for parking lots in most popular areas such as Fort, Nariman Point and Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Colaba.

At present, the parking fee at such lots is Rs 20 per hour. As per civic data, there are over 60 such parking lots in the city.

The policy includes an area-based rating of parking charges, which will mean a lesser hike for the least popular areas and higher for more popular ones. For example, parking lots in Kandivali's Charkop or Chembur's Shoppers Stop will see a hike of 33 per cent in parking charges, while those such as Regal or Lion Gate will see a 200 per cent rise to Rs 40 an hour.

The increase has been proposed for the next two years, after which the charges will be increased by 10 per cent every two years.

At present, there are 92 pay-and-park lots, of which 47 are in south Mumbai. In category A, the most populous lots include parking plots which are close to railway stations and markets such as Crawford Market, Churchgate and Lower Parel. Areas such as Prabhadevi and Siddhivinayak will see a two-fold hike under category B.

While the BMC will allow free parking on parking lots near tourism spots on weekends and public holidays, it has proposed to remove parking lots within a 100-metre radius of schools and colleges in a phasewise manner.

The policy was passed Thursday, despite opposition from Congress corporators.

"It will affect the common man, especially two-wheeler owners," said Congress Corporator Mohsin Haider.

However, BMC's improvements committee chairman and BJP corporator Ram Barot said, "The rise in parking cost will probably push people to use public transport. This will reduce traffic in congested areas."