Scenario of on Street Parking Demand: A Case Study of Kolkata City, India

Abstract

Parking is an essential requirement of the transportation system. The availability of parking is related to the price, location and the type of parking spaces followed by infrastructure of these spaces and enforcement of regulations. Parking spaces are required by residents, employees, customers and visitors and the movement of traffic. Therefore Kolkata is one of the fast urbanising countries in the world and standard of living of the residents of Kolkata has increased dramatically and it has resulted in an unprecedented increase in personalised mode of vehicles. These huge numbers of personalised vehicles require a storage system at the end of travelling hours, which is called parking. However there are two categories of car parking which have been observed in the city and it includes on street and off street parking. On street parking is most commonly observed in the city of Kolkata and further it has been said that illegal on street parking leads to traffic congestion and it emits huge amount of vehicular pollution. Transport Department, Government of West Bengal and Kolkata Traffic Police have been taken various initiatives and provisions to mechanise on street car parking legally and make a balance between the demand and supply of parking in the various on street parking spaces in the city. B.B.D Bag, Esplanade area, Park Street, Gariahat and other adjoining commercial areas which include South City Mall, Mani Square Mall, Quest Mall, Metropolis Mall, Lake Mall are the main places for on street car parking in the city. Kolkata Municipal Corporation and Kolkata Traffic Police have been implemented several parking fees to maintain these car parking spaces systematically. Therefore in this paper an attempt has been made to point out various aspects of parking characteristics such as location, area, duration of parking, accumulation and volume in the parking spaces followed by some guidelines and provisions which will surely make better Kolkata city in future.