R K Handa
There was a news in Daily Excelsior on 15th of January 2024 that nearly two dozen roadside,multilevel parking lots have been proposed for Jammu city by a committee of officers consisting of Inspector General of Police (Traffic), Municipal Commissioners of Jammu and Srinagar, Vice Chairman’s of Jammu and Srinagar Development Authorities. Now the final view has to be taken by Housing and Urban Department.
The author is of the opinion that before taking a final decision following points need to be studied by UT Govt.
Huge parking lot was developed by Jammu Development Authority under smart city project at Jammu Bus stand.It needs to be studied whether this parking lot is being fully utilised and if not why all along the road right from patrol pump below Gumat upto Vivekanand round about ,cars and two wheelers are seen parked,why the vehicles are seen parked all along the road right from the patrol pump upto Shalimar chowk,why cars and two wheelers are being parked on both sides of Hari market and Gumat bazar and why the Karan market is seen jammed with vehicles. Certainly it is because of lac to of controls by traffic authorities. Even jams are seen outside the office of Municipal Commissioner and there are no controls and regulations.Commercial plaza has been constructed on the top floor of Bus Stand parking lot adding to parking requirement. Are we decongesting the city or making it more congested.
It needs to be studied whether all the parking lots developed so far are mostly being utilised as garages for vehicles of people residing in the vicinity of the parking lots.
The parking lots are auctioned by the Jammu Development Authority and are being run by non professionals There are no electronic barriers at these lots whereby the number of vehicles entering into and exiting from the parking lots can not be monitored.It is upto the boys deployed by the contractors who collect parking fee without any authentic record. Had the electronic gates been installed,the contracting agency would know the total collection by the contractor which would enable the Development Authority or the Municipal Corporation to decide as to what should be the minimum bid money acceptable .
The author is of the view that :
Traffic volume survey of each road and lane in the city should be got conducted which will determine the requirement of parking lots in the city.
Survey of number of private vehicles being owned by each house hold in the city (mohalla,colony )streetwise should be got conducted and having done so to survey as to where such private vehicles are being parked .It will be seen that many households have more than one or two vehicles and they park the vehicles on roadside making the roads congested thus hindering the smooth movement of traffic.Govt needs to formulate rules whereby on road parking is discouraged.Simply levying roadside parking charges is not the solution as this will not solve the problem of congestion of roads and smooth flow of traffic.
Govt offices should not be allowed in residential colonies as each office has a number of vehicles which are parked on the roads.
The recommendations of the committee of officers towards development of 24 parking lots and improvement of major junctions should be got published in media along with drawings so that the public can know and give their reactions and views.
Each project should be got evaluated by experts in respect of technical,financial,environmental,commercial and indigenous people (people residing near the site of the proposed project) point of view.
We need to decongest the city by shifting some of the offices outside the city and developing parking sites where ever feasible. Land for the offices to be shifted is available with JDA at Sidhra,Majeen and Rangoora.The parcels of land in these villages is prone to encroachment .
SOME SUGGESTIONS:
Civil Secretariats Jammu is seen jam packed by vehicles.There is no parking site available outside for the visitors who have to go to the secretariats. It is proposed that the office of vigilance which is in old depleted building should be moved outside the city and parking lot developed over that.
In that case entry of visitors should be from back side of the secretariats.
The complex of forest Deptt near exchange road is also in depleted buildings.These offices of forest department should also be moved outside the city and a multilevel parking lot developed over there.By doing so the surface parking of vehicles on the road from Dogra hall to Kanchi Chawani can be avoided besides the road from telephone exchange towards Rehari bridge and on exchange road can be decongested.
The parking lot developed by JDA at Kachi Chawani should be remodelled by constructing multilayered electric run platforms. This will help in accommodating more vehicles.
When the Central jail was constructed it was on the outer edge of Jammu city.Now it is in the heart of city.There is no point to keep the jail in the heart of city.It can be shifted outside the city and a large parking lot developed over there which will result in decongestion of roads from Ved mandir to police head quarter complex, Amphalla crossing to B.C road, police head quarter to Mubarak Mandi which is being developed as heritage complex. Even Kachi Chawani road and road from Kachi Chawani to Moti Bazar shall get relief from traffic congestion.
Once upon a time JK Motors complex outside Karan Nagar can also be developed as a small parking lot.
Feasibility of erecting multilevel mechanised parking lots at Puranimandi,and Old complex of excise Deptt near Central Basic School also needs to be explored.
OR ELSE
From Parade to RajTilak road,Purani Mandi,Link road,Jain bazar,and from City chowk to Purani Mandi ,there should be no traffic for four wheelers and three wheelers from 9am to 9 pm.For the convenience of public an ambulance should be stationed at Purani Mandi to ferry sick people.More so one electric mini bus should operate on chargeable basis for those who may like to avail the facility.
The depleted complexes of forensic laboratory, Central stores, SRTC office near Bikram Chowk need to be shifted outside the city and the land can be given to Jammu university for expansion. There is no point keeping these offices in the heart of the city.
Nehru Market complex buildings have outlived their lives and can crumble any time. The road from hotel Asia towards 4th bridge remains over crowded. This Nehru market complex needs to be demolished and the occupants accommodated some where outside.The right of way of this road should be increased and this road should be made 6 lane road.The remaining land along with land retrieved by shifting warehouse outside the city right upto Tawi bund should be developed a green area, may a botanical garden along with walking trail and site for Yoga.This area can be merged with river front which will become a tourist attraction site.
The intersections at Gandhinagar, Shastrinagar, Trikutanagar, Channi Himmat housing colonies need to be studied minutely. For example two small round a-bouts from goal market towards Nanak nagar gurdwara remain jam packed through out the day may be because of unauthorised commercial activities on all the four corners of these round a-bouts. Similarly from PNB Gandhinagar towards Shiva chowk, there are two round a-bouts which remain jam packed throughout the day.Same is the scene at Doodhdhari crossing at Shastrinagar. The root cause of congestion on intersections in housing colonies is unauthorised commercial activities.
The offices of chief engineer PHE, sericulture complex at B.C road and complex of irrigation Deptt at Canal Road need to be shifted outside the city and parking lots can be developed over there.
Tourist buses are often seen parked on the road outside old RTO office .Similarly tourist buses are being parked outside Railway station opposit excise office,on the bank of Tawi canal and outside Vaishnavi Dham making the roads congested.This needs to be looked into.
There is no dedicated site for three wheelers outside Railway station.This makes the road congested.
The parking lots at Bahu Plaza are not adequate.Vehicles are seen parked outside Bahu plaza making the roads congested.On the east side of Bahu plaza complex ,sufficient land is available where under ground parking site can be developed over which JDA can construct shopping and office buildings.By doing so besides adding parking space more commercial activity can be generated which will ultimately result in relief in Gandhinagar Nagar and Trikuta Nagar from commercial activities.
With all humility,the author without challenging the capabilities of town planners in Govt Deptt is of the opinion that experts from IIT Roorkee and Delhi school of planning should be engaged to work on the issue and provide specific recommendations .This will result into better solutions. Shrine Board University and IIT Jammu students should also be involved for capacity building.
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