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4 major Pune roads set for pilot pay-and-park system after 8-year delay
The pay-and-park system is aimed at decongesting Pune roads, which are often cluttered with parked vehicles.
Student cost of living Pune. (File Photo)
Eight years after deciding to introduce a pay-and-park system alongside city roads to discourage the use of private vehicles, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has received bids to implement it on four of five roads on a pilot basis.
The PMC has selected Jangli Maharaj Road along with Fergusson College Road, Laxmi Road, Balewadi High Street, and the main roads of Vimannagar and Bibwewadi.
“The process was initiated last year, but bidding responses were received only for two roads—Laxmi Road and Vimannagar Road. Thus, there was a re-tender and two contractors each have done bidding for four of the five roads,” Dinkar Gojare, in-charge of the civic Traffic Planning Department, said. The proposal for finalising the contractor will be tabled in the Standing Committee for approval, he added.
The new system is aimed at decongesting city roads that are often cluttered with parked vehicles. “It will streamline parking and enable efficient use of parking spaces. The highlight of the policy is that parking charges are based on the demand for parking space in a particular area, as against the geographical divisions in other cities,” he said.
Currently, there is no pay‑and‑park system on Pune roads, except in PMC‑owned parking bays. Political parties have opposed the move, citing poor public transport and rising inflation as factors that would place an additional burden on citizens.
According to the civic administration, Pune has the lowest parking rates compared to those in other cities. The city has over 40 lakh registered vehicles, and sees an addition of 500 to 700 vehicles per day. The rising number of vehicles has led to increasing traffic problems and spikes in pollution. Pune also sees as many as 160 deaths due to accidents, on average, every year.
What the 2018 parking policy said
In 2018, the PMC Standing Committee had approved a parking policy, which included introducing pay and park systems on major city roads.
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As per the policy, parking charges will vary between 8 am and 10 pm, and from 10 pm to 8 am. For two‑wheelers, on‑street parking will cost a minimum of Rs 2 and a maximum of Rs 4 per hour, while off‑street parking will range from Re 1 to Rs 3 per hour. The same rates will apply at night. For four-wheelers, the PMC will charge a minimum of Rs 10 and a maximum of Rs 20 per hour for on-street parking, and a minimum of Rs 7 and a maximum of Rs 14 per hour for off-street parking.
Though the move to implement the pay and park system was taken when the PMC was in control of an administrator, it will have to get approval from the elected members in the Standing Committee.
The city has been divided into three zones based on the level of congestion: central business district areas, mobility corridors, and the rest of the city.
Those violating parking norms and not paying the charges will have to pay twice the amount, and if they fail to pay the charges again, they will have to pay four times the amount. Vehicles parked on a cycle track or spaces to park cycles will be fined Rs 2,500.
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In 2018, the civic body had sent the proposal to the Maharashtra government seeking directions since there was no political consensus, but since the PMC received no response from the state, it decided to go ahead and implement the policy on a pilot basis.
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