It has been four years since I moved to the US, but I am
still amazed by the amount of parking spaces available everywhere. This is a
far cry from the parking situation in India, where every trip made by car has
to account for an additional hour or two spent in traffic jams and looking for
a parking spot. Indian cities are experiencing an exponential increase in
traffic demand and the increased spending power is adding to more cars on the
road. Currently, India is the eleventh largest passenger car market having
recorded domestic sales of over 1.9 million cars in the country in the year
2009-2010(1)!
Parking policies in India are struggling to keep up with the growing demand. This
op-ed will examine the problems and focus on some possible solutions to India’s
parking problems from around the world.
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Parking Woes
Of the many problems of parking in India, the greatest is
the acute shortage of space both on and off street. This increases the time
spent searching for a parking spot and induces traffic congestion and results
in parked cars spilling over to travel lanes and other impossible parking
situations. Poor on-street parking management not only degrades the walking
environment and worsens parking woes, it is also a lost opportunity for
municipal revenue collection (2).
Often, private and off-street parking lots are perceived as
a good solution to make up for the undersupply. However, this segment is
over-run by the informal market in the form of untaxed and unregulated parking
services. With this also comes mismanagement and bad customer service (includes
parking fee collectors armed with guns!). Off-Street lots are also under-utilized
and do little to fix the problem. This is due to the high parking costs and the
unwillingness of car-users to park far away from their destinations. The lack
of well-organized and authorized off-street parking facilities leads to illegal
on-street parking, resulting in further traffic chaos, congestion delay and
accidents (3).
It is an entirely different story in the newer cities and
developments cropping up in India, where minimum parking requirements emulate
suburban US parking policies. Even in the densest Indian cities, I was shocked
to find that cars (typical spot = 280 sq. ft.) occupy more space than a family
of four (range from 85-250 sq. ft. depending on income level) (2)! A recent
study by Asian Development Bank on Parking Policy in Asia demonstrates that
conventional parking policies such as those of the US are poorly suited for
developing countries with dense urban fabric. This is problematic not only
because it accommodates an increase in demand for car travel but also because
it increases the cost of ownership of housing. This specifically affects middle
and lower income households and their search for affordable housing.
What can be done?
In my research on this topic, several innovative solutions
exist to all the problems I mentioned. The problem, of course, is proper
implementation and enforcement. Most of the solutions I came across involve
advanced technologies formulated by engineers.
The solutions involve making most of the limited space – that means either
building up (multi-level car parking) or building down (multi-level basement
parking). Space and time efficiency are achieved by using automated systems or
mechanical equipment like car-lifts. Some cities like Chennai already have
plans for these futuristic parking structures in place. However, I feel
that these solutions are not only prohibitively expensive but do nothing to
manage parking demand. Also, building multi-level parking lots in most cities
has often meant sacrificing parks for parking structures. A few years ago, the
Supreme Court approved
the construction of a parking lot under the very popular Cubbon Park in
Bangalore, paving the way for more such future parking lots.
Another way to address this problem is to regulate the
informal parking market. Following a model from Mexico City’s La Condesa
District (2), if India
were to formalize private on-street parking, it could capture revenue generated
and use it for street and neighborhood improvements or provide incentives to
reduce auto-dependency.
I believe that a better way to reach a solution is to
address the demand for parking rather than the supply. Off-street parking is
tied to Floor Area Ratio (FAR) and zoning laws of cities, which dictates
parking minimums. In India, most new residential developments, even the ones right
next to mass transit, boast of multiple parking spaces per apartment purely
because local zoning code requires them to provide so much parking. Moreover,
minimum parking requirements in India are similar across an entire city. A
targeted approach towards parking requirements in zoning codes – like reducing
parking minimums in neighborhoods closer to BRT (2), light rail or other mass
transit lines – is, in my opinion, an immediate priority for Indian cities.
Finally, encouraging more reliance on active transportation
is, of course, an obvious way to manage parking demand. ITDP recently produced
a report / sourcebook
that outlines best practices in promoting non-motorized transport options
across the world and methods of implementation in developing countries,
especially in southeast Asia. The sourcebook provides guidelines for dealing
with common socio-political and feasibility challenges that come with trying to
implement and then enforce active transportation policies. As with my other
posts about India, enforcement remains the biggest obstacle to implementation
of any of these ideas.
Sources:
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