Pimpri-Chinchwad’s first ‘pay and park’ policy to roll out on 13 major roads from March 1

The Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) has decided to finally roll out its long-delayed ‘pay and park’ policy from March 1. The policy will be implemented on 13 major roads in the industrial city.

Municipal Commissioner Shravan Hardikar told The Indian Express on Monday that the civic standing committee has given its green signal and the civic administration is all set to implement its first parking policy in the city. “The policy was first approved in 2018… We have received good response to the tendering process and are now in the final stage of rolling it out,” he said.

The civic chief said initially, the policy will be implemented on major roads in the city, including Pune-Mumbai Highway and Pune-Nashik Highway. “We will implement the policy in a phased manner. First, we will implement it on major roads and then we will move to internal roads which are narrow and see increasing load of traffic,” he said.

For two-wheelers and three-wheelers, Rs 5 will be charged for per hour parking. For cars and tempos, Rs 10 will be charged, and for trucks and mini buses, Rs 25 will be charged. Heavy vehicles and private buses will have to pay Rs 100 for per hour parking. The policy is being implemented in all six zones of the civic body.

The PCMC chief said once the parking policy comes into force, traffic discipline will be easier to enforce.

PCMC Executive Engineer Shrikant Savane said,”We are in the process of finalising the spots where tempos, cars, trucks and buses can be parked. The Pimpri area might get tempo parking as they can be found in this suburb. Similarly, truck parking spots have not been finalised yet. We might allow it on Nashik Road.”

Meanwhile, BJP MLA Laxman Jagtap said, “Parking has become a big issue in Pimpri-Chinchwad. Because of haphazard and indiscriminate parking, chaotic traffic conditions are growing in the industrial city.”

Jagtap, who has written a letter to PCMC administration, police and RTO over the issue, said,”I had raised the issue of chaotic traffic conditions in the state assembly last month.”

He said parking of private buses has become the biggest problem. “Whether in Pimple Gurav, Pimple Saudagar or Kasarwadi, private buses are parked indiscriminately, creating hurdles for smooth movement of other vehicles,” he said.

Jagtap said vehicle repair shop owners park the vehicles on the roads while carrying out their work. “The prime example is at Kasarwadi, where the vehicular traffic is a nightmare as vehicles are parked right on the road by mechanics. This has been going on for very long, with police and PCMC administration turning a blind eye to the problem,” he said.

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