Lessons Delhi Can Learn From Chandigarh's Draft Parking Policy

If Delhi needs to learn a lesson or two, policymakers need not go far. City Beautiful Chandigarh is working towards taming what could otherwise lead to uncontrolled pollution in the city. The draft parking policy has some interesting plans, which could go a long way in maintaining and even enriching the livability quotient of Chandigarh. Here's a quick look at the key features of the draft parking policy:

Background

According to official data, the city had over 10 lakh vehicles as of 2015 out of which 35 per cent were four-wheelers. On an average, every home in Chandigarh has four vehicles. The authorities have remarked that “parking demand is insatiable and uncontrolled parking supply encourages private mode-dependency in this landlocked city with a limited road network.”

Proposed interventions

Peak-time pricing: Congestion pricing is being planned. This means if you use high-density markets such as V-1/V-2/V-3/V-4 roads, Industrial area Phase-I and II, Sector-17, Sector-22, Sector-35, Sector-43, during peak hours – 9 am-12 noon and 5-8 pm – you may have to pay a higher user fee.

Offices to follow the code of conduct: If any company has a headcount of 50 or above, it becomes mandatory for them to ensure buses that would ply their staff. Vehicles parked outside premises would be fined at Rs 1,000 per car.

Initially, Working Place Parking Levy (WPPL) would be introduced in public offices and may also be extended to private offices where incentives and passes might be given to encourage the use of public transport.

Mandatory Certificate of entitlement (COE) : Come January 2018 and the COE would be made mandatory. How does it work? The COE is a license received in a successful winning bid in an open bid uniform price auction which grants the legal right of the holder to register, own and use a vehicle within the city for a period of 10 years.

When demand is high, the cost of a COE would even exceed the value of the car itself. The number of COE will be determined on a quarterly basis keeping in mind the holding capacity of the city.

Road tax goes up: The Chandigarh administration has come up with a breakthrough strategy. Road tax would now be up to half the price of the second car purchased by a family.

If the car is high-end, costing Rs 10 lakh or above, the road tax could be Rs 5 lakh or more.

Show them the parking: Every new car that is registered would also require the vehicle owners to prove with documents that they have the parking lot available at home. This would be made mandatory starting January 2018.

Other key measures:

Parking charges for vehicles registered outside Punjab and Haryana would be 50 per cent higher.

Marla houses with parking lots within their site would qualify for a half concession on property tax.

RWAs would need to ensure that vehicles do not encroach footpaths. Gardening and plantation stand forbidden along V-4, V-5 and V-6 roads if they block pedestrian and cyclists' way.

The administration also plans to levy penalty on on-street parking areas if they are not parallel to the road.

In case of public gatherings for melas or gatherings, shuttle services should be organised in order to make roads congestion free.

Plots of one kanal and above, vehicle parking will not be entertained on metalled portion of the road and road berms of the plots.

The administration is also looking at developing an app that would let residents sublet their unused parking space.

Have objections, suggestions? The administration has invited your thoughts at  stpcbbl.Chd@gmail.com before January 15, 2018.