Team Herald
PANJIM: As the Imagine Panaji Smart City Development Limited (IPSCDL) released a comprehensive parking policy in a bid to take measures to decongest the capital city, the residents sought to get details of steps to tackle serious parking problems largely created by vehicles of casinos customers employees.
One of the residents Selvyn D’souza asked the consultants if their comprehensive survey has examined of the availability of free parking space once the off-shore casinos are moved out of River Mandovi. “How many free parking spaces will be available for the residents if the offshore casinos are removed? Have you’ll checked on the decongestion of the city once these vehicles (ferrying customers and employees of the casinos) are stopped,” he sought to know during a citizen consultation on the Parking Policy for Panjim.
The parking problem in the capital city has reached harrowing proportions and Herald has also often reported that the problem is further aggravated with the ever-increasing vehicles of casinos customers and employees, clogging the free parking areas along all roads adjoining the Mandovi river front, creating serious parking for the ordinary citizens.
The major parking areas parallel to the Mandovi promenade have been taken over by the vehicles of casinos employees, customers private vehicles and taxis which ferry customers, in the absence of designated paid parking spaces. The residents and activists have been complaining that the authorities have failed to resolve the issue of parking by casino clients, employees and taxis.
The residents also pointed at thousands of vehicles entering the city from different places including the non-Goa registered vehicles, stating these have not only taken away ampleparking space but the improper manner in which these vehicles are parked are also a cause of nuisance.
Steven Dias stated that a large number of non-Panjim vehicles enter the city on a daily basis and the policy drafted by the consultant has nothing to address the issue. Manoj Joshi added that the policy doesn’t seem to look into the aspect that 90 percent problem created by non-Panjim residents. “Did the consultant check the parking situation on a weekend? During Saturday-Sunday, there is ample space for parking. If that is true, then why are you penalising residents with parking permits, etc when the parking woes are created by non-residents?” he commented.
As a part of resolving parking problems, the IPSCDL has proposed parking permits for the residents. Another resident suggested on checking parking spaces available in the existing buildings and how many of those are illegally converted into shops and sold out.
The IPSCDL during its presentation wherein eight parking policies were explained to the attendees raised fear that if the parking problem is not resolved soon, the 30 percent of the total lengths of roads which are more in demand than supply for parking will increase to 51 percent by 2040 year.
“We have to manage parking and this cannot be done by policy alone, but all strategy should work in tandem,” an official said during the presentation. The agency also proposed sustainable approach towards resolving the issues citing comprehensive parking policy and that effective parking management can be a solution.
