COIMBATORE: The four-storey multi-level car parking (MLCP) facility on DB Road in RS Puram, built under the Coimbatore Smart City project, is being revived after remaining largely unused for more than two years.
Constructed at a cost of Rs 44.78 crore, the structure has a total capacity of parking 380 cars with 80 on each floor and 60 on the ground level. Five hydraulic lifts were installed to move vehicles between floors.
Commissioned in 2022, the project initially saw poor public response as motorists found the parking fees high. Only the ground floor was being used, while the lifts remained idle and the upper floors stood vacant. At times, the premises were used as a temporary storage space during emergencies to pack and send relief items to nearby affected cities and states.
Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation Commissioner M Sivaguru Prabakaran has now initiated steps to bring the facility back into full operation. After repair and testing, the lifts have been made functional again, and cars were successfully parked on the upper levels during a trial run. Around 160 cars were parked during the recent demonstration that was conducted by the civic body officials.
Sources said that once all cars are shifted to the upper floors, the ground level will be opened for two-wheeler parking. To reduce on-street congestion, the police will soon direct motorists on DB Road to use the MLCP instead of parking along the roadside.
The revival of this long-stalled project is expected to ease parking woes in RS Puram's busy commercial streets and improve traffic movement in the area.
