With the recent notification of the Delhi government’s new parking policy, hundreds of area-specific parking plans will be developed over the next four months. Local associations will help officials develop and implement these plans, which experts say will be designed to curtail the use of private vehicles and give more space to pedestrians as well as alternative and greener modes of transport

The Capital in almost its entirety is now a no-parking zone unless mentioned otherwise, according to the provisions of Delhi’s first-ever parking policy, which was notified by the city government last week.

Parking in Delhi is set to undergo a major makeover as the Delhi Maintenance and Management of Parking Places Rules, 2019, contains provisions for formulating hundreds of area-specific parking plans. These plans, which will be developed over the next four months in a first-of-its-kind exhaustive exercise, will take into account the shape, direction and existing design of the city’s streets.

Calling the new parking rules a “big win” for the city, Anumita Roy Chowdhury, one of the architects of the policy, said that the scheme is aimed at curtailing demand for private vehicles by limiting the space available and rationing it. Fewer private vehicles will help bring down not only congestion but pollution levels as well, she added.

Varsha Joshi, who as former Delhi Transport Commissioner also worked on the policy and currently heads the North Delhi Municipal Corporation as Commissioner, said the policy’s objective was not the generation of profit by the authorities enforcing it, but ensuring the effective utilisation of motorable paths for the benefit of all road users – especially pedestrians.

Equal participation from all stakeholders, whether authorities or citizens, is key to the successful implementation of the policy, Ms. Joshi added.

Till now, authorities dealt with parking through “spot fixing” of problems, said Ms. Chowdhury.

This meant that commercial areas or places with heavy congestion would have some form of authorised parking management, typically leased out to private vendors. But with the new policy, legal parking areas will have to be identified and demarcated across the city, in both commercial and residential areas. And vehicles parked illegally will be liable to be towed.

“It is for the first time that the city has got a parking policy. Delhi has seen many vehicle and traffic circulation plans but never a dedicated policy for parking,” said A.K. Jain, former commissioner of the Delhi Development Authority.

“This will be the first time that commercially-registered vehicles will be subject to parking rules… the rules will take some time and much effort to implement, but it is possible, and it will help decongest commercial areas and ensure effective utilisation of existing stilt parking facilities in residential areas,” he added.

Without a clear city-wide policy in place, people parked in any public space available and accumulated vehicles without any sense of consequence, Ms. Chowdhury said, adding that nearly 40% of pollution in Delhi can be attributed to vehicular emissions.

The new policy clearly lays down guidelines for legal parking, including no parking in parks, and parking a certain distance away from curbs. The policy also directs that one lane must always be free for use by emergency vehicles. It also prioritises movement of pedestrians and other modes of transportation, she added.

Area-specific plans

On formulation of area-specific plans, senior civic body officials said that surveys and mapping of area available, vehicular movement patterns, parking requirements in neighbourhoods will be carried out in coordination with local resident welfare and market associations.

Similar to the parking plans developed in Lajpat Nagar, Karol Bagh, Greater Kailash, Krishna Nagar and Kamla Nagar, the plans will involve local solutions to local problems. While the pilot projects being carried out in these areas will help provide a framework to build similar plans in other neighbourhoods, officials said that there can be no “one size fits all” approach.

The new parking policy frames extensive guidelines for developing area-wise plans and the role of the local stakeholders will be crucial, civic body officials said, adding that only local welfare associations would be able to recognise local problems and help develop local solutions.

For instance, market associations in Lajpat Nagar and Karol Bagh have taken the call to set up e-rickshaw shuttle services from the parking area to the markets as one solution for shoppers. Apart from this, involvement of residents in the planning process will help them see the needs and limitations of the exercise, and understand its importance, said Ms Chowdhury.

“There are already several apartment complexes in Patparganj and other places that have developed such plans on a smaller scale,” she said.

Officials said that the north and east Delhi civic bodies are likely to develop ward-wise plans — the north civic body has 104 wards while the east municipal corporation has 64 wards. The South Delhi Municipal Corporation is likely to develop 70 area-wise plans based on points of congestion and their “area of influence”, said officials.

‘Feeling short-changed’

B.S. Vohra of the East Delhi RWAs Joint Front, however, argued that the policy was a revenue-generation scheme that would short-change citizens who had paid various fees and taxes for parking space.

“We are against the provision of paid-parking for residents. They [the authorities] say our streets are public land but that is not the case. We have paid for the land on which these streets exist through various charges, both while buying our properties and over the years. It is common land and there is an understanding between residents regarding its usage — in terms of parking our vehicles in the vicinity of our homes,” Mr. Vohra said.

“If the policy is enforced, my car parked outside my house will cost me between ₹12,000 and ₹15,000 to just remain stationary. They [the government] just want money. Whose fault is it that there isn’t enough parking in the city? We, the citizens, are not at fault. We are not guilty but successive governments are to blame. The policy will be very difficult to implement. Why did governments allow the sale of so many vehicles when there is dearth of parking space? They make us pay road tax and many other charges while purchasing vehicles and now this,” he added.

Enforcing the policy

The parking plans will also include measures to enforce them, including permission to tow away illegally parked vehicles, which will be identified as encroachments, said officials. Involvement of the RWAs in ensuring enforcement will also be central, they added.

Management plans and technological solutions will be necessary for effective implementation. For instance, the three municipal corporations, under the directions of the Environmental Protection Control Authority (EPCA), are exploring the use of Radio Frequency Identification Tags (RFID) tags in parking. This would involve the installation of infrastructure such as CCTVs, RFID readers and distribution of the tags to private vehicles, so as to identify and record their movement in and out of parking zones. Other interventions involve the use of “boom barriers” and “geo-fencing”, added officials.

“Manual management of parking, whether in residential or commercial areas, will not work with a plan as large as this. The use of automatic TAG cards or RFID cards connected to parking slots relaying data about the duration of usage can go some ways in ensuring success of the policy,” said Rejimon C.K. of the Dwarka Forum.

Green credits

Linking this infrastructure further to common mobility travel cards of individuals could help authorities award green credits to incentivise the use of public transport.

“The technology is available. Common Mobility Cards being used by individuals can be linked to the same database that gathers their use of parking facilities. So, if an individual takes the metro or a bus during peak commuting hours, he or she can be given some discount on their use of surface parking. Measures like this can incentivise the use of public transport by car users,” he added.

The implementation of area-wise parking plans will help optimise use of available space in the city, said Ms. Chowdhury.

In drawing up the plans, authorities will have to identify parking requirement of an area, requirement for excess cars, and the land-use of the area.

In doing so, various existing infrastructure such as multilevel or stack parking, which are being underutilised can be put to use. One such intervention is the use of mall parking lot in the Kamla Nagar area for overnight parking.

Parking charges

While the policy does not mention mandatory parking charges in residential areas, Ms. Chowdhury said that such charges would be inevitable down the road.

Once parking is limited and rationed, a system will be required to handle demand, she said, adding that basic maintenance such as demarcation of parking lines and hiring security guards would require funds.

Ms. Chowdhury said that the new plans will make it clear to each and every Delhiite that accumulation of private vehicles simply cannot continue.

“While we might be able to salvage the situation now and create space, the current rate of private car accumulation is unsustainable,” she added.

Priority to pedestrians, cyclists

The new parking policy aims to not only improve availability of parking but also promote walking, cycling and use of public transport



Means to reduce parking demand

* The Master Plan for Delhi (MPD) 2021 provides for a Parking Management District Plan, which has been adapted to the Parking Management Area Plan (PMAP)

* According to MPD-2021, parking management must be used as a tool to reduce demand for parking space

* The objective of the PMAP is to provide comprehensive facilities for all modes of transport as well as road users

* The plan aims to improve availability of on-street and off-street parking but also promote walking, cycling and use of public transport

Objectives of the policy

* On-street road space should be utilised for general convenience of users in the following order of priority:

(i) Movement space for pedestrians, cyclists, and the differently abled

(ii) Movement and parking space for emergency vehicles

(iii) Multimodal integration, including bus stops

(iv) Paratransit pick-up and drop-off, especially near intersections, bus stops and high-footfall areas

(v) Hawking/vending zones

(vi) Cycle parking

(vii) Private vehicle pick-up and drop-off zones

(viii) Electric vehicles

(ix) Priced private vehicle parking (short term)

(x) Overnight parking (for buses, commercial vehicles on arterial roads)

* Any area or spot not notified and physically demarcated as a parking site/spot should be considered a 'no-parking zone' and relevant penalties shall be applicable

* Under no circumstances should a vehicle, either parked or moving, block access route of emergency vehicles

* Only single row per side ‘parallel parking’ to be permitted on roads

Implementation of rules

* The policy will translate onto the ground through formulation of multiple PMAPs

* A PMAP is an area-level plan prepared by any local body, which will demarcate all types of parking spaces for all modes of transportation as well as essential street amenities

* PMAPs will be prepared in consultation with local stakeholders, planning bodies/departments and with a team of transport planners and urban designers

* PMAPs will include traffic circulation/dispersal plan along with road geometry and walkability improvements with universal accessibility

(i) The plans will demarcate available roadspace for requisite uses as well as off-street parking facilities, along with numbering, marking and signage plan

(ii) PMAPs will have detailed designs for surface, multi-level and on-street parking facilities along with indicative location of pedestrian areas, vendors, public amenities/toilets/utilities, green open spaces

(iii) The plans will also demarcate short-term and long-term parking facilities and their pricing strategy

* At least 25% of the collected parking charges will be used to improve and maintain footpaths, public amenities and parking facilities within the PMAP area



Residential areas

* In residential areas and off-street parking facilities, regular parkers may apply for monthly or annual passes and stickers

* Penalty for illegal/wrong parking, especially parking on emergency lanes

* Policy to identify underutilised land such as open parking lots, community halls, underdeveloped government offices or their parking lots, new development plots which could accommodate stack/multi-level parking facilities, if required



Commercial areas

* After provision of adequate footpaths as per codes, demarcation of remaining space for on-street parking

* Identification of underutilised lands such as open parking lots, community halls, underdeveloped government offices or their parking lots, new development plots which could accommodate stack/multi-level parking facilities



Pricing strategy

* Elimination of free parking and introduction of “effective parking charges”

* Personal vehicles must be parked on a fully-paid space, based on ‘user pay’ principle as per the National Urban Transport Policy

* Parking charges should be optimal and not be so high as to reduce occupancy drastically or too low that it induces more demand

* Introduction of variable parking rates to influence parking demand

* Parking rates to be set according to peak and non-peak hour, duration of stay (higher hourly charges for longer duration), commercial importance of areas and level of connectivity, weekday or weekend,

* Free parking allowed for cycles, cycle-rickshaws, battery-operated vehicles and public transport vehicles

* Penalise illegal parking heavily enough to be a long-term deterrent

Source: Delhi Maintenance and Management of Parking Places Rules, 2019