CCP has received two bids from interested parties to manage the pay parking system and the process of evaluating each bid is underway. Speaking to herald, Deputy Commissioner of CCP Sudhir Kerkar said, “Tenders have been floated and two bidders have shown interest. The decision on the bidder will be taken by the council meeting. The commissioner will decide who will be the bidder and the mayor will decide on the council meeting which will finally take a call on implementing pay parking in Panaji.”
When asked whether parking will be enforced phase wise as suggested by Charles Correia Foundation he quickly replied saying, “It’s all up to the council who will give the clearance for implementation. But I feel that it should be done in all 18 notified places at once so that there is no confusion among people.”
The decongestion plan drafted by the Charles Correia Foundation states that the pay-parking model was to be implemented in two phases. Phase I of the project would see the Cafe Bhosle zone, MG road, the Panaji municipal market area and the area near Inox theatre being utilized for pay-parking. Pay parking slots would also be created in front of Vishal Mega Mart and Junta house along with the area around 31st January Road and the old Post Office.
As of now, the CCP has cracked down on illegal and haphazard parking and has appointed a contractor to tow, clam and fine offenders. Meanwhile the Panjim mayor, Shubham Chodankar has been consistently emphasising on the need to bring some order to the city’s chaotic traffic.
The North Goa district collector had first notified 18 zones for pay-parking as well as no-parking on August 8, 2014, with the notification coming into effect on September 15, 2014. CCP, at an ordinary council meeting on December 13, 2014, unanimously approved in-principal to go ahead with pay-parking in the city’s central business district on a trial basis.
CCP had approached the North Goa collector’s office asking for a few more places to be notified for no-parking and pay parking. The North Goa collector’s office in turn rejected the petition asking instead for the notified zones to be implemented as pay parking and no-parking zones.
