Mumbai police commissioner pushes for ‘NoParkingNoCar’ – Times of India

MUMBAI: Police commissioner Sanjay Pandey on Tuesday tweeted the idea of “NoParkingNoCar” and said he will take it up with car companies.

The idea is shorthand for not registering new cars till they have proper parking slots. Pandey pointed out that 600 new cars are added to the city roads daily and combined with the numerous app cabs results in limited road space. Pandey’s decision to make the city roads more drivable and with fewer parking woes was welcomed by a section of netizens while others hit out.

According to the latest transport statistics, Mumbai has witnessed a 107% jump in vehicular population in the past decade (see box). “Kuch to karna hoga (something has to be done)… I am not a final authority and I am a Mumbaikar like you. Love the city and wish it was more motorable,” Pandey tweeted.
One person responded: “That’s a great thought but considering that Mumbai still has a large number of chawls and old buildings which never had any parking space planned, residents of such buildings will be the biggest sufferers”.
Another Twitter user said: “Sir, parking is a local civic body responsibility, they should make provisions…Civilians should not be penalised for this.” A third person said: “Promote Pay & Park by charging nominal fees.”
Experts like former transport commissioner V N More had suggested NoParkingNoCar, but the proposal has been gathering dust in government files (see box for other proposals).
Ashok Datar from Mumbai Mobility Forum said NoParkingNoCar was the only solution, but this was unpopular among lakhs of car owners and politicians who owned more than one vehicle.
Datar said there were roads with vehicles parked on both sides impeding public transport as well as pedestrians. “Since NoParkingNoCar seems a difficult proposition, we need to look at alternatives like improving the parking system, introducing more pay and park lots,” he suggested. Nearly 40% cars in the city are parked on roads due to lack of proper parking facilities.
Sources said there were many families with 2-3 cars. “In some countries like Singapore, there are stricter laws — where you have to buy a new car only after scrapping the old one,” said an activist.