The State Government, which is finalising its first ever parking policy for urban centres, is contemplating to tax multiple vehicle ownership as part of a host of enforcement and interventions it has planned.
As the number of vehicles has witnessed a sharp rise in the last one decade after the urban planning has failed to cope with the growth, the policy looks at arresting the trend. It proposes to raise registration rates for multiple car ownership.
The policy, which says that raising rates for owning subsequent cars could act as a deterrent, also recommends treating driving offences with greater severity.
The policy looks at entrusting greater responsibility with local police for enforcing parking regulations. Adequate number of police personnel will be deputed for surveillance and enforcement of parking regulations in each zone. Making available tow truck to facilitate eviction of offending vehicles will also be the job of the police.
While tow trucks are proposed to be requisitioned from private enterprises, operating expenses are to be recovered through penal fees collected from violators. It will be the responsibility of the police and the ULB to train and employ persons as parking wardens, who will monitor the space usage on behalf of the police. The wardens will be instructed to issue parking violation notices and record reason, time and location so that notices can be sent and action taken.
The use of automated systems would be encouraged for the enforcement agency to identify wrongly parked vehicles and impose penalty. The policy also mandates the ULBs for preparing city level planning by consulting local development authority, police, transport, railways and national highway authorities.
A major highlight of the policy is the restriction on parking along roads. The document stipulates that on-street parking will not be permitted at locations on primary and secondary road network where carriageway width is 7 metres and less. Similarly, street parking would not be allowed on roads where volume-capacity is low and speed limit is less than 15 km per hour.
As per the policy, bus routes would be declared as no-parking zones to ensure better operational conditions for buses. Currently, cars park right in front of the bus stops forcing them to stop in the middle lane and holding up the traffic on other lanes. Declaring these routes as parking free zone will clear the flow of traffic, it says.
Effort will be made to develop park and ride facilities at all public transport interchanges in the city.