Despite having high demand for parking facilities at its metro stations, only a few stations of Bengaluru’s Namma Metro have adequate parking space, reports Economic Times.
According to the report, nearly 12,000 two-wheelers and 2,000 four-wheelers are parked in the 19 stations of the metro service. However, four terminal stations of Namma Metro, which have the parking infrastructure, attract a high number of vehicles compared to other stations. The parking facilities at these stations allow commuters to drop their vehicles and take the train to their destinations.
Absence of parking infrastructure in the other 22 stations, including MG Road and Trinity Circle, of Bengaluru’s metro service has led to commuters parking their vehicles in the nearby residential lanes.
As per the report, around 1,500 two-wheelers and 350 four-wheelers are parked at Baiyappanahalli and Mysuru Road stations, which have parking facilities and are located at the ends of the East-West corridor. However, stations such as Hosahalli, Jalahalli, National College and Banashankari witness less parked vehicles due to absence of adequate parking facility.
During the development of the project official reportedly cited expensive land prices as one of the main reasons for not creating parking infrastructure.
“Metro officials have lost an opportunity to create parking facilities in Phase I. Going underground on MG Road was one of the options. Parking infrastructure and intermodal connectivity should be an integral part of the station design,” urban mobility expert V Ravichandar was quoted in the report as saying.