It has been rightly said the biggest problem of the 21st century is car parking. Over the years, the federal capital has developed from a sleepy little town into a rapidly growing city where the residents can no longer take simple things like car parking slots for granted.
As Ramadan slowly creeps towards its end and Eid shopping gains momentum, motorists face innumerable problems like traffic jams and a lack of parking spaces. Roads get particularly crammed with vehicles, especially at Iftaar and after evening prayers, when people throng to the city’s shopping malls.
Shoppers and ICT administration blame insufficient parking spaces in most of the shopping malls for the situation.
Parking areas in major markets and shopping malls in the capital, including F/6 (Super Market), F/7 (Jinnah Super Market and Raana Market), F/8, F/10, F/11, G/6 (Aabpara and Melody Market), G/7, G/8, G/9 (Karachi Company), G/10, G/11, I/9 and I/10 are packed to capacity every day with hundreds of vehicles.
With traffic and parking already a huge problem, the situation takes an ugly turn with the advent of religious festivals such as Eid, when the masses throng to shopping malls.
Talking to Pakistan Today, shoppers in Super Market, Jinnah Super Market and Aabpara Market said these and adjacent areas were the most chaotic, especially with Eid around the corner.
“The situation turns into a nightmare ahead of Eid. As Ramadan nears its end, everyone rushes to shopping centres, leading to traffic congestion and resulting in frequent violations of traffic rules,” said Osama Pervaiz while shopping at Aabpara Market.
“In most shopping centres of the capital, nearby streets are the only places left to park vehicles. In other markets, parking space is either too limited or rented for commercial purposes, clearly violating the building codes,” he added.
Hamza Khan, a shopper at F/6 Super Market, said there was an elementary flaw in most of these markets. “They are situated right on the main roads, creating traffic congestion regularly. Many drivers have to queue up and wait before they can enter the parking zones, thus creating gridlock on the roads,” he added.
The problem with parking in Islamabad is compounded by many factors. One, of course, is the growing population, thus, more cars. The second is the lack of public transport which has now dwindled down to a bare skeleton, forcing people to use private cars.
The third is the development of commercial centres in residential areas. The master plan had separated them to a large extent, but over the years, schools, offices and eateries found their way into houses meant for residence. Residential streets were not designed to carry the load of school or office traffic. Moreover, since the culture of school and office buses is non-existent, residents have to put up with heavy, and many a times traffic which is at a complete stand-still.
Markets also face a shortage of parking space. The problem in this case is usually not one of a total lack of parking area in any plan, but that of bad parking or double parking. Islamabad, being a city of VIPs and VVIPs, the drivers park right in front of the shop so that the sahibs or begums do not have to walk into the parking lot to get into their cars.
Even ordinary people prefer to park right in front of the shop they intend to visit; the result being that there are three rows of cars parked in front of shops, and an empty parking space on one side. Then again, some shopkeepers and office-goers take their cars to work in the morning and occupy spaces (which are limited to begin with) for the whole day. Some cars are parked on the green belts of Islamabad, threatening the beauty of the city.
While giving suggestions, people said parking facilities needed to be approved. At some point in the future, multi-storey parking plazas need to be constructed that charge lower parking rates for those wanting to park for a longer period. “Parking areas must be well maintained, clearly identifiable with signs and markings, well lit and secure. Finally, buses should be made mandatory for schools and offices, and traffic wardens appointed must ensure disciplined parking,” they suggested.
People said a modern city should have a proper traffic infrastructure. “This is something lacking in Islamabad,” said a traveller.
He said car drivers, on the other hand, were in dilemma as they had no other option but to park vehicles on roads or streets most of the time.
“If I have a car, I have to park it somewhere. If there is no parking space, I have to park it on the road. I have no other option, especially at the time of Iftaar, when everyone is in a hurry,” said Talha Bhatti, a customer at Jinnah Super Market in Sector F-7.
According to a survey conducted by the Islamabad Traffic Police (ITP), the capital had witnessed a mushroom growth of multi-storeyed shopping malls in the last couple of years and an increase in the number of four-wheelers that created problems as there was no proper parking infrastructure.
The survey said that over 250,000 vehicles entered and exited from the Zero Point Interchange- Islamabad Expressway.
“The situation has taken a turn for the worse recently in the capital with an increase in the number of vehicles. Cars have become increasingly affordable for the middle class in recent times,” they concluded.
However, Capital Development Authority (CDA) spokesman Ramzan Sajid said parking facilities in Islamabad were far advanced than in other cities of the country. “Moreover, there is not a single parking area in the city where CDA is charging parking fee. Half of London’s budget is generated from its parking fees, but the CDA, facilitates masses in the capital,” he said.
He added that the CDA was negotiating with private firms for the construction of multi-storey parking plazas in Islamabad. “Initially we plan to construct parking plazas in sectors G/6, F/7 and F/8, where there is a lot of traffic congestion,” he said.
