Chennai: T Nagar multilevel car parking picks up – Times of India

CHENNAI: A week after opening for business, the multi-level car parking facility in T Nagar has reached a daily occupancy of nearly 50%.
Officials say that nearly 100 cars are being parked on weekends in the facility with the capacity to accommodate 222 cars and 500 two-wheelers and about 30,000 has been collected in parking fee so far. The fee for cars is 20 per hour and for two wheelers it is 5 per hour.
On March 3, when Greater Chennai Corporation launched paid parking at the facility, about 20 cars were parked. This increased to 40 and then 80. Now, about 100 cars are parked there daily, say corporation officials. Owners of shops and other business establishments in the area are still not parking there as there is no subsidy in rates for them.
Smart parking director S Haja, a consultant for the corporation’s smart city mission, said the response was lukewarm. “Since there aren’t many such facilities in the city, people are a little hesitant. However, we are providing valet parking where one of our employees will drive the car till the lift after which the car will be parked automatically. It doesn’t take more than one minute for a car to be parked. The keys are then handed over to the owners. The rates are very less in comparison to similar private facilities. We are hopeful that more people will begin using this,” he stated.
The facility is well lit, has good and clean toilets, feeding rooms for mothers and complete generator back-up, he added.
A senior corporation official who wanted to remain anonymous said that the civic body was working on system under which there would be offers and subsidies to make shop owners use the facility for longer hours. It also plans to ask residents who park cars on the streets at night to use this facility.
“The cars will be safer here than on the streets. We will make the Pondy Bazaar road car free soon and less congested. It is all in the pipeline, but it is a work in progress,” said an official.