India is the world’s second most populous nation and traffic on the streets of Mumbai reflects this. In fact, the number of cars in Mumbai has increased by 51% in the last six years, meaning not only is pollution and congestion on the rise, but the fight for parking spaces is too.
As a result, Mumbai’s BMC (The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) is attacking traffic and parking management head-on with measures aimed at alleviating the growing problems.
The Times of India is reporting a series of initiatives to curb the issue, including a scheme where local residents will need a permit to park vehicles on one side of the road adjacent to their homes. This will be to the exclusion of all other vehicles. Over time, barcodes will be introduced to assist police enforcement.
But that’s not all. To increase the city’s capacity, the BMC has approved dozens of public parking lot proposals creating space for up to 30,000 more vehicles. The BMC will investigate models from abroad to better manage peak times, charging for parking depending on the demand in that area at a particular time of the day
Finally, and probably most controversially, the state transport commissioner is pushing for vehicle registrations to be blocked if an owner does not have sufficient parking space available at their residence.
Of course all of these measures may have some impact on the parking struggles faced by the community, however enforcement and a strict adherence to the new regulations may only be the tip of the iceberg as one of the world’s largest cities grows and develops at a rate of knots.