In the past, residents have complained of nearby establishments adding to the pressure of the existing parking problems. 

Being in the heart of the city, the area proves to be a prime location for businesses as well as cultural events. The Campal Trade Center is one such place. Like many residents in the area, local resident Patricia Pinto and her husband have had to face vehicles parked in front of their home. “There are so many people that visit the building and because they don’t have any dedicated space for parking, they tend to park in front of our houses,” she said. 

Kala Academy too is buzzing most evenings with the sound of music or the occasional art gallery or school program. Dr. Lilia Sequeira e Sukhija who runs a clinic in the center says she sometimes gets patients coming to her home but because of the number of cars parked in the area, “My patients most of whom come with small children have to walk a long distance, which I find unreasonable.”

She says pay parking will definitely be a better alternative than the current situation. “There is absolutely no peace whether it’s day time or night. There have been known to be other unwanted things happening too. I think that with the pay parking, lesser people would want to pay to park in the area. And hopefully, it will stop these unwanted activities happening in the area too,” says Dr. Sukhija. 

A new addition to the restaurant scene has also seen cars crowding the heritage rich area of Campal. Ask Antonio Pergrino da Costa who knows firsthand the results of having Fisherman’s Wharf next door. 

“It is seen that many times, there are men that stop people from parking in front of their restaurant. I agree we’ve always had problems when it came to parking in this area and the restaurant certainly has increased this pressure,” he said. He too agrees it will help ease the parking problems of the area. 

The Campal Residents Association had in the past prepared a plan that was submitted to the Corporation of the City of Panjim (CCP). The CCP had passed the plan at its council meeting and was then submitted to the North Goa District Collector and the Campal Heritage Precinct for notification. 

“The residents association had prepared a pay parking plan for the Campal Heritage area and submitted it to the CCP. It has finally been notified by the government and this is going to help decongest the area and bring about some discipline vis-à-vis parking,” said Kabir Pinto Makhija, ex-deputy mayor for the CCP and current councilor.  

CCP mayor too breathed relief saying that since the notification had now been cleared by the collector, implementing it would be an immediate task on the part of the corporation. 

The plan as described by the association would look to allowing only residents to park free while any outsider would have to pay an amount to park their vehicles.