The newly developed multilevel car parking in Noida’s Sector 18, which can accommodate about 3,000 vehicles, is yet to prove useful as most of the times the facility remains deserted while rows of vehicles are parked on the roads nearby.
The multilevel parking was developed by the Noida Authority to decongest the crowded market complex, as rows of cars parked in the area often lead to traffic jams and chaos. But even after months of its opening, commuters still prefer to park their vehicles on the roads.
City Spidey spoke to car drivers, parking management staff and locals on why they still opt against a new, more convenient facility.
The car drivers say that the distance between multilevel parking and Atta market—which is roughly about a kilometer—puts it down on their priority list. “If I just need to be in the market for 15 minutes, I don’t want to spend 40 minutes in parking and walking till the market.”
Though the multilevel parking has a capacity of 3,000 vehicles, it barely manages to attract about 1,000-odd vehicles, that too on a weekend, said Shivendra Pandey, a DLF employee who manages this parking facility.
In fact, DLF manages the multilevel parking as well as the surface parking in Sector 18. “The area has big malls like DLF Mall and GIP, which have their own parking. There is space for nearly 6,000 vehicles in the area. Most of the people who come for a short duration in the area are looking for parking close by and avoid multilevel parking,” added Pandey.
Lower rate for surface parking is another big reason working against multilevel parking. Surface parking costs Rs 20 per hours during the day while multilevel charges start from Rs 30 for first two hours and Rs 10 per hour afterwards. The night parking charges go even higher if vehicle is parked after 2 am. “After 1 am, night charges go up to Rs 500,” said Pandey.
Noida Authority had even proposed to come up with an App to provide information to commuters about parking slots available in the facility. However, locals aren’t too enthusiastic about it. “App would not serve its purpose till the time people have an option to park on the surface,” said a shopkeeper in the area.
Talking to City Spidey on the issue, Anil Kumar Jha, SP (traffic) Noida, said, “Why would people opt for multilevel parking when surface parking is available on lower rate? The authority needs to devise a better model so that all the space available can be better utilized, eventually decongesting the area.”
