The city counted 32 lakh vehicles in 2018, a 50 per cent rise from 20 lakh official numbers recorded just five years.
The nation’s financial capital has seen a spate of building fires, the latest one in Tilak Nagar (Chembur) exposed a fundamental problem that ails most Mumbai streets: A lack of parking slots and rampant double parking which blocks the path of fire engines. Mumbai has more than 32 lakh vehicles and all of them are looking for parking spots.
The city counted 32 lakh vehicles in 2018, a 50 per cent rise from 20 lakh official numbers recorded just five years. Vehicular density has increased from approximately to 1,500 vehicles per km in 2018 from 935 in 2012. The road length in Mumbai has also not changed significantly from 2,000 km. Similarly, as per norms, the approach road to any building should be 12 metres wide. However, many approach roads are as narrow as 6 meters.
In Sargam Society, only 60 parking slots were allotted to the 148 residential families. Thus, many of the cars and two-wheelers were parked on roads and bylanes leading to the society, blocking the entry of fire tenders.
Mumbai has more than 14,000 old buildings that are vying for redevelopment. Many three-storied buildings have been torn down and replaced by towers. However, parking arrangements have not expanded accordingly. The Marine drive area is uniquely afflicted due to the presence of several education institutions in close proximity to each other. Jai Hind College, Sydenham college, Government law college and International Students Hostel are nestled close to each other in narrow bylanes. Other areas impacted such within south Mumbai as New Marine Lines, Kalbadevi, Mumbadevi and Bhuleshwar
Redevelopers blame the government’s cap on number of parking slots dictated to them. “Government has capped the number of parking spaces in any construction and redevelopment scheme. It charges a premium for any extra parking above this limit. The state should incentivise creation of additional parking space, the benefit of which can be reaped by the consumer,” says Nishant Deshmukh, managing director of Sugee Developers.
The government’s current 33/24 public car park scheme is applicable only to builders who build on larger plots, under which they are given incentives to construct larger public parking spaces. This does not apply to smaller plot, a majority of which undergo redevelopment.
Former fire adviser to the Government of Maharashtra, MV Deshmukh offers more radical solutions: He says the city currently thinks it can grow only vertically. He feels that city’s suburbs should be opened up and mass transit transport should be encouraged to reduce the burden on the island city. The current town planning is extremely haphazard, says Deshmukh.
“According to the National Building Code (NBC),” explains Deshmukh, “an area equal to the height of the building divided by 3, or up to 54 metres open spaces has to be allotted around buildings. This space is to be utilised for parking and should allow manoeuvring of mechanized fire ladders. Mumbai Fire brigade’s ladders can stretch up to 100 metres. However, as these NBC norms are flouted, 99 per cent of the of fire ladders in buildings cannot move around efficiently.”
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