The proposal was approved as the BJP corporators voted in its favour, while representatives of all other political parties opposed it, said Mulick.
In a move to decongest city roads that are often cluttered with parked vehicles, the Pune Municipal Corporation’s (PMC’s) Standing Committee on Tuesday gave its nod for a new parking policy, under which four-wheelers will have to pay a higher amount for parking on the streets, two-wheelers will also be charged for parking, and, for the first time, charges will be levied for parking vehicles through the night.
“The new parking policy has been pending for a long time in the Standing Committee… it was approved after reducing the charges to 20 per cent of those proposed by the civic administration,” said Yogesh Mulick, chairperson of the Standing Committee.
The proposal was approved as the BJP corporators voted in its favour, while representatives of all other political parties opposed it, said Mulick.
Municipal Commissioner Kunal Kumar said, “The new parking policy is going to be very important in resolving traffic congestion in the city … The PMC did take some decisions on traffic projects in the last few years, but the roads have to be managed better to benefit from the projects.”
“The policy will streamline parking and enable the efficient use of parking spaces. The highlight of the policy is that parking charges are based on the demand for parking space in a particular area, as against the geographical divisions in other cities,” he said.
The proposal would be tabled in the civic general body meeting. After it is approved, the PMC would take at least three months to prepare a detailed plan for its implementation. “A proper mechanism, using latest technological methods, would be used to implement the policy,” said Kumar.
The new parking policy aims to provide a safe transport system, and enable safe and sufficient passage for pedestrians and cyclists.
According to the civic administration, Pune has the lowest parking rates compared to rates in other cities. The city has 38 lakh registered vehicles, and sees an addition of 500 to 700 vehicles per day. The rising number of vehicles is causing traffic problems and contributing to pollution. Pune also sees as many as 160 accidental deaths, on an average, every year. Due to the increasing number of vehicles, even when roads are widened, it has little impact on the burgeoning traffic, as large parts of the road are occupied by parked cars.
As per the draft proposal approved by the Standing Committee on Tuesday, the parking charges would be different between 8 am to 10 pm, and from 10 pm to 8 am. The city has been divided into three zones based on the level of congestion — central business district areas, mobility corridors and the rest of the city.
For two-wheelers, the charges would be a minimum of Rs 2 per hour and a maximum of Rs 4 per hour for on-street parking, while they would be a minimum of Re 1 and maximum of Rs 3 per hour for off-street parking. The same rates would apply through the night, instead of per hour.
Earlier, the civic administration had proposed a minimum of Rs 10 and maximum of Rs 20 per hour for on-street parking of four-wheelers, and a minimum of Rs 7 and maximum of Rs 14 per hour for two-wheelers for off-street parking. For parking in front of old buildings, four-wheelers will be charged Rs 5 per day, and Rs 1,825 annually. In slum areas, fees for night parking would be Rs 2.50 per day and Rs 910 for the entire year. Those violating parking norms and not paying the charges would have to pay twice the amount, and if they fail to pay the charges again, they will have to pay four times the amount. Vehicles parked on a cycle track or spaces to park cycles would be penalised Rs 2,500
Cycles, ambulances and autorickshaws parked at the approved sites, and vehicles designed for the differently-abled, would be exempted from parking charges.