In a paper published on Wednesday, the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) suggested that in order to lessen traffic in the federal capital, there should be paid parking.
Free parking encourages car use beyond what is ideal, according to Dr. Idrees Khawaja, a former PIDE Chief of Research, who made this statement at the report’s launch event.
To ascertain the “demand and supply of parking” for a trial parking plan, the institute’s team examined 66 parking spaces in 17 busy Islamabad markets.
According to the survey, there were more people looking for parking than there were spots available at different locations during different times of the day, which required drivers to spend more time and gas money looking for a spot.
69.3% of drivers in a survey at specific locations said they would be willing to pay for parking.
The study recommended car and motorcycle parking stalls, buffers, sidewalks, frontages, crosswalks, ramps, bollards, vegetation medians, and green parking stalls for parking lots and other designated parking areas.
It recommended setting up parking meters, which would be monitored by CCTV cameras and supplemented by traffic wardens, as well as a parking app to collect payments.
For parking fees, the study recommended a flat rate of Rs. 30 per hour.
Three price options were suggested by the PIDE report:
- Fixed cost for parking cars, regardless of the time of day or length of stay.
- Peak hour pricing during which parking costs are higher.
- Parking fees have a durational increase in marginal pricing.
With these fees, 30 parking lots across seven locations would generate Rs. 51 million in net revenue each month after all expenses. The report also stated that it would significantly improve traffic flow in congested areas.
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