Haphazard parking doubles capital’s traffic woes

Capital dwellers have called for constructing parking plazas, especially in the city's commercial centres where the worst traffic congestion is the daily norm.

They said a shortage of parking space in commercial areas was the major reason for traffic congestion, adding often they were left with no option except parking their vehicles on roads, link roads, footpaths and green belts which only added to the traffic bedlam in the city. The citizens expressed particular dismay at the wanton use of green belts as parking places, both by commercial and non-commercial entities, citing it only added to environmental issues.

“The capital's initial master plan been violated or amended since commercial areas are increasing without allocating sufficient space for car parings, which compromises the city’s beauty, once declared among the most beautiful cities of the world,” said social activist Babar Saleem.

Arsalan, a resident of Sector F-7 stressed the need to sensitise the public to abide by traffic rules and regulations to ensure smooth traffic flow. He said multi-storey parking plazas built in some cities of Punjab, were a possible solution to the issue. When contacted Capital Development Authority (CDA) officials blamed shop owners for the parking problem, who they claimed had illegally encroached on parking spaces in commercial areas of the city.

Citizens should be sensitized about the traffic management system and a handsome parking fee should be imposed for revenue generation that will help pay for constructing new parking plazas, they added.

They suggested the construction of six multi-storey parking plazas in major business centres of the city, three in Blue Area, one in F-8 and two in F-10 Markaz.

On the other hand, the Islamabad Traffic Police (ITP) has fined 2,284 motorists for parking vehicles at the wrong places in the federal capital this year. The police also impounded a few such vehicles for creating problems in smooth traffic flow, said an ITP official.

Speaking to the media, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) traffic Farrukh Rashid said all zonal DSPs had been asked to ensure traffic laws implementation while being courteous with citizens. Personnel had been told to adopt ‘Phele Salam- Phir Kalam’ policy and start a campaign to create awareness in motorists about traffic laws.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 2^nd, 2021.