Street parking in Liberty to go by October end: Tepa

LAHORE: The Park-and-Ride parking plaza near the Liberty Roundabout will open for the public by end of October.

Israr Ahmed, the Traffic Engineering and Planning Agency (Tepa) director, told The Express Tribune on Tuesday that the structure of the plaza had been completed in June. “A complete ban would be imposed on on-street parking once the plaza opens,” he said. Ahmed said that the pedestrians would then be able to use the streets without the inconvenience caused by the parking.

He said that the chief minister would inaugurate the plaza after Eid.

The original cost of the project, initially planned to be a five-storey structure on a three-kanal-and-16-marla area, was Rs499.96 million, another Tepa official said. He said that the project had been awarded to Maaksons, the lowest bidders.

The plaza initially had a capacity to accommodate 206 vehicles, he added.

Under the revised plan approved in May, the number of floors was increased to nine, three to be used for commercial purposes (basement, ground floor and the mezzanine floor) and six for parking, he said.

The parking capacity was thus enhanced to accommodate 350 vehicles, he said, besides, 91 shops were to be constructed on the three commercial floors.

He said that the plaza would be operational 12-hours everyday. The parking fee would likely be set at around Rs25 per hour.

Aamir Chaudhary, the Maaksons Construction Company manager, told The Express Tribune that under the original plan, the company was required only to raise the structure, but in July it was asked to undertake the complete project.

About the parking system, Chaudhary said that all equipment used in it would be imported from Germany and Britain. “We have already placed orders in this regard,” he said. All accessories to be used in the parking system would be imported from Germany, he said, while the gears of the elevators would be procured from Britain.  He said that the ramp at the entrance was complete but the land needed to set up a ramp at the exit was yet to be acquired.

On safety and security arrangements, he said that the plaza would be equipped with barriers, car scanners, CCTV cameras, a public address system, fire alarms and fire fighting equipment and emergency buttons to ensure prompt access to the security office as well as the police station.

He said that the plaza would have designated parking space for the handicapped closer to staircases and elevators.

Khushal Khan Khattak, a former Tepa chief engineer who was involved in planning of the project, said that the plot had been reserved for parking in 1952 when commercial development was initiated in Liberty.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 4^th, 2010.