Delhi’s hi-tech ghost parking lots

Even as the paucity of parking spaces continues to be a major issue in the national Capital, the multi-level parking lots in the city have failed to attract consumers. The reasons range from the lots being non-user friendly to having structural flaws. 

The automated multi-level parking lots in the Capital were offered as a solution to the city’s problems of shrunken road space, increasing number of vehicles, and the resultant traffic snarls. They were developed under the respective municipal corporations of Delhi on a public-private partnership (PPP) model.  

The lots, however, have had few takers. Most of these spaces are massively under-utilised, with less than 15-20 per cent of the space being used.

The deserted hi-tech parking lots, including in Sarojini Nagar, Hauz Khas, Munirka in south Delhi, and Kamla Nagar and Model Town in north Delhi, make it evident that the concept did not get customers’ thumbs up. Even the underground parking lots in the busy Connaught Place area — Palika Bazaar and Shivaji Stadium parkings — have only 20 per cent utilisation. Moreover, the issue of lack of parking space in the city persists.

The multi-level facility in the crowded Kamla Nagar exists within a mall located in the centre of the main market. It remains nearly empty even on weekends, when the place gets a footfall of around 25,000 people. The facility can accommodate 828 cars and 300 two-wheelers.

“On any given day, the occupancy here remains around 100-120 while the approach roads outside remain jam-packed with vehicles. This is despite the fact that the roads are in the no-parking zone. Commuters park their vehicles outside at the risk of them being towed or damaged,” said Anil Bansal, who owns a garments store in the market and is a member of the traders association.

The fully robotic facility was thrown open for the public in 2013. It has a total of seven floors with six elevators and assures safety with 24x7 CCTV surveillance system. According to municipal officials, however, despite the modern system, people prefer to park on roads. 

“The average occupancy rate is 30 per cent. The structure was built by a private concessionaire as a commercial complex and was meant to reduce congestion outside by providing a huge parking space. It is up to the private player now how he wants to recover the cost. The company can rope in traffic police to enforce the rule against unauthorised parking on the streets to make more people use the parking lot,” a senior north Corporation official said.

Meanwhile, most users said they don’t find the facility user-friendly. “It takes more than 20 minutes to get to the parking lot and then to one of the floors to park the vehicle. It doesn’t make sense to make customers wait for so long. People prefer to park their vehicles along the road side,” said Anuj Rohtagi, a regular at the market. 

The situation is the same at the Sarojini Nagar market, where the automated parking was the first one to be opened in 2011. Years after it became operational, the multi-level car park facility remains grossly under utilised, and the approach road leading up to the facility has been encroached upon by squatting vendors.  

The market also faces a space crunch, especially on weekends and holidays. The already congested place becomes even more difficult to approach with a battery of vendors and hawkers squatting on roads, traders said. 

In addition, shoppers prefer to park on roads and in surface parking lots rather than using the NDMC-DLF facility. An attendant at the automated parking facility said the lot, which can house 824 cars at a time, is not even half utilised, including on weekends. 

The market has 200-odd shops and 150 residential units.

Traders said that in a series of meetings with the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) and the Delhi Police officials, they had put forth the demand of removing vendors from roadsides. Also, the G-Avenue approach road to the parking is closed on weekends on account of security after the 2005 bomb blasts. 

“The wide entry leading to the multi-level facility is barricaded on weekdays and completely blocked on weekends. This adds to congestion, as people avoid taking a longer route to the lot and end up parking in bylanes, roadsides and colony roads,” Sarojini Nagar resident Anuradha Mehta said. She added that only six of the eight lifts of the facility were functional, and those were slow as well.  

A senior NDMC official said: “We are striving hard to make the multi-level facility convenient and user-friendly. We have staff deployed to take action against vendors causing traffic congestion.”

Another failed project is the Hauz Khas multi-level parking lot, which was opened on a trial basis. Since its inauguration in September 2013, it is being operated free of cost. The facility still remains mostly unused. 

Customers said the flaw lies in the structural designing, which makes it difficult to steer in and out of the lot. “The contractor seems to not have taken into account the size of SUVs. There are technical issues in getting the cars in and out,” businessman Vikas Khanna said.

Multi-level parking capacity

North Corporation
Kamla Nagar: 828
Model Town II: 105
 
South Corporation
(open on trial basis)
Hauz Khas: 320
Munirka: 400
Jangpura: 308 
New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC)
Sarojini Nagar: 824