How Chennai and Coimbatore City Budgets are Championing Walkable Streets

20th May 2025 by admin

For years, major cities in Tamil Nadu have prioritised vehicles through budgetary allocations and infrastructure. This is despite the fact that two-thirds of all trips in the state are made by walking, cycling, or using public transport. This year, however, the tide is turning. The Tamil Nadu Budget 2025 marks a pivotal shift with Chennai and Coimbatore taking the lead, placing Non-Motorised Transport (NMT) —like walking and cycling—at the heart of mobility planning, and reimagining streets as spaces for people, not just cars. What sets this budget apart is not just the scale of funding, but the values it reflects—equity, safety, and access for all.

While this development is a step in the right direction and is still in its nascent stages, Chennai’s strides towards creating walking and cycling friendly streets echo some of the early moves seen in cities like Singapore. Singapore has long been a role model for Southeast Asia, known for its integrated public transport and walkable, people-friendly streets, backed by landmark investments like the 1 billion Singapore Dollars’ fund for last-mile connectivity in 2016, and forward-looking policies such as the Active Mobility Act (2017) and Multi-Modal Transport Act (2021). Anchored by the Tamil Nadu Budget 2025, which earmarks significant investments in footpaths, smart parking, and Safe Routes to School pilots, Chennai’s journey could chart a similar course—if implementation keeps pace with vision.

A Historic Leap for Walkability in Chennai

A landmark first – ₹200 crore dedicated funding for 170 km of footpaths in Chennai

This year’s budget has earmarked ₹200 crore for the implementation of 170 km of high-quality footpath in Chennai. This is the largest investment for pedestrian infrastructure in the city to date, and the first time since the Non-Motorised Transport (NMT) Policy of 2014 that footpath development has received such focused financial backing. Announced by Hon’ble Minister K.N. Nehru on March 25, 2025, this move is more than just a line item in a budget—it is a powerful reaffirmation of the state’s commitment to safer, more inclusive streets for all, especially vulnerable road users including children, the elderly, and Persons with Disabilities (PwDs).

Chennai’s journey: From marginal to meaningful investments!

Chennai’s journey toward walkable streets began with ambition. Following the adoption of its pioneering Non Motorised Transport Policy in 2014 the city saw average annual footpath investments rise to ₹72 crore, resulting in the creation of over 170 km of footpaths between 2014 and 2019—most of it funded through the Tamil Nadu Urban Road Infrastructure Fund (TURIF). During this time, the city also tapped into the Smart Cities Mission’s Area-Based Development (ABD) funds to implement the now-celebrated Pedestrian Plaza and its feeder streets in T. Nagar.

*_{Citizens walking safely on Pedestrian Plaza}*

To scale up its efforts, Chennai launched the Complete Streets program in 2020 (earlier known as “Mega Streets”) with a dedicated ₹100 crore allocation under the Chennai City Partnership with the World Bank. The project aimed to reimagine neighbourhood-level street networks by integrating underground utility upgrades and walk and cycle-friendly above-ground infrastructure. However, the first implementation phase, under progress, covers only around 11 km, leaving behind the demand for a city-wide network of functional footpaths largely unmet.

*_{Ongoing implementation under the Complete Streets Project at Khader Nawaz Khan Road, Nungambakkam}*

Analysing the budgetary spending, we found that from 2022 to 2025, Chennai’s investment in footpaths plummeted to just ₹13 crore per year on average. A modest recovery came in FY 2024–25, with ₹25 crore earmarked for 21 km of footpaths, but this was still far from enough to undo years of underinvestment.

_{Source: Budget Expenditure categorised by type of work and scheme, FY 2012 – January 2025 (Bus Route Road Department)}

However, our analysis also pointed out that over all these years, road resurfacing and carriageway upgrades continued unhindered, reflecting an annual average spending of ₹84 Crores, and a consistent focus toward vehicle-centric planning.

A renewed push: Bringing safety and equity to the forefront

Any policy without dedicated, sustained funding is just a wish. For Chennai to become truly walkable, sustained investment and quality implementation must now follow the city’s renewed aspirations, and 2025 marks a good beginning with this significant dedicated allocation for NMT infrastructure. Analysis of spending patterns on NMT infrastructure over the last three years, reveals that footpath implementation in Chennai relied on piecemeal funding drawn from state and city-level schemes—such as the Tamil Nadu Urban Road Infrastructure Fund (TURIF) and Singara Chennai 2.0. In the absence of a dedicated budget, investments in Non-Motorised Transport (NMT) remained inconsistent and limited in scale. This year’s ₹200 crore commitment by Chennai, marks an eightfold increase over last year’s spending on walking and cycling. This signals a much-needed shift from fragmented support to focused investment.

This renewed focus on walkability couldn’t have come at a more critical time. While Chennai has made commendable progress in reducing overall road crashes, the proportion of pedestrian fatalities has seen a troubling rise from 11% in 2019 to a staggering 43% in 2023.

*_Source:*_{Road Accidents Reports (2019-2022), MoRTH}_&_{Road Accident Analysis in Tamil Nadu 2023, TNSTC}

This persistent gap between mobility patterns and infrastructure safety highlights the urgent need for course correction, which this budget begins to address. The ₹200 crore allocation is a long-overdue shift toward building streets that are shared public spaces where everyone can move freely and safely. To transform this intent into tangible impact and ensure that the budget is effectively utilised, aligned with diverse mobility initiatives, and executed on time, a dedicated coordinating agency like the Chennai Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (CUMTA) is crucial.

Bringing It All Together: CUMTA as the institutional backbone

Much like Singapore’s shift to a car-lite city was steered by its Land Transport Authority through various institutional reforms and proactive policymaking, Chennai’s mobility transition is now gaining momentum through the leadership of the Chennai Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (CUMTA). With a clear mandate to coordinate mobility efforts across the Chennai Metropolitan Area (CMA), CUMTA is emerging as the anchor institution for Chennai’s people-first mobility vision.

As part of the Budget 2025, Honourable Minister for Housing & Urban Development, Thiru S. Muthusamy announced an array of progressive initiatives led by CUMTA.

Building on the newly adopted Parking Policy, CUMTA will pilot Smart Parking Management in Anna Nagar, reclaiming public space and improving local access.

CUMTA is also developing Comprehensive Street Design Guidelines for the entire Chennai Metropolitan Area—including Tambaram, Avadi, and Kanchipuram—to create safer, more inclusive streets across jurisdictions.

Complementing this, CUMTA is also drafting the Traffic Impact Assessment Guidelines to help cities manage congestion and ensure new developments align with sustainable transport goals.

These initiatives go hand-in-hand with Tamil Nadu’s growing investment in Non-Motorised Transport—signalling not just a shift in budget priorities, but a change in how cities are planned and governed. With institutions like CUMTA at the helm, Tamil Nadu is building long-lasting systems to realise its people-first mobility vision.

Coimbatore Steps Up: Scaling Sustainable Mobility Initiatives

Building on Chennai’s momentum, Coimbatore is making its own strides towards a more people-centric mobility scenario with this year’s budget embedding sustainable mobility into the city’s planning priorities. Two key initiatives are set to guide this: revising the Coimbatore Street Design Guidelines and developing a comprehensive NMT Action Plan. These tools will help the city set a strong foundation for designing safer, more inclusive streets at scale.

Coimbatore has been grappling with concerns on road safety, with road fatalities rising over 1000 in 2023; ranking highest in the state. In addition to various other initiatives to address this, a ₹2.5 crore allocation has been announced for a Safe Routes to School pilot on Trichy High Road, covering 2.5 km of critical access routes. Together, these moves reflect Coimbatore’s growing commitment to creating well-planned, safe, walkable streets and mark a step forward in scaling sustainable mobility across Tamil Nadu.

A Decade of Partnership: ITDP’s Ongoing Commitment

Since 2009, ITDP in India has worked closely with the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC), Chennai Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (CUMTA), and Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation to help shape their sustainable mobility vision.

Over the years, ITDP has supported with technical research and guidance on key policies and guidelines adopted by city governments, such as the Non-Motorised Transport Policy, Parking Policy, and the Complete Streets Framework. We are also continuing to help cities build the capacity to implement them through on-ground workshops, experiential street audits, and engagements with city leaders. Our role has also included providing technical support and data-driven insights to guide decision-making and strengthen the case for healthier, more equitable streets.

We are happy and proud to have contributed to realising these milestones and are extremely grateful for the past and present city leadership for their sustained support in championing these initiatives.

*_{Capacity Development Workshop for Bus Routes Roads Department in 2024}*

A Win Worth Celebrating—and Building On

These announcements are worth celebrating, especially for cities like Chennai and Coimbatore, that are leading this change at the forefront. However, the real measure of success lies in how well we translate this vision and intent into long-lasting impact on the ground.

Here are a few pointers for the city governments to make this fruitful:

Chennai’s ambitious plan to implement 170 km of footpaths must be guided by a clear network planning strategy and aligned with CUMTA’s Comprehensive Mobility Plan.

Bringing on board qualified technical experts and consultants will be key to ensuring street designs meet the standards laid out in the city’s adopted guidelines.

Facilitating capacity building for contractors and engineers is equally important to ensure high-quality street implementation. Field engineers must closely monitor implementation quality using well-defined performance indicators to ensure accountability at every step.

Cities must also embed Operations & Maintenance (O&M) systems right from the planning stage, to ensure infrastructure remains functional and safe for all users.

Annually recurring budgets for NMT including dedicated budgets for O&M must be institutionalised, so cities can plan consistently and scale.

One persistent challenge our cities face is siloed execution, where lack of co-ordination leads to utility works disrupting newly built footpaths and guidelines/policies exist on paper without enforcement. Addressing this will require strong inter-agency collaboration, clear mandates, and sustained leadership from institutions like CUMTA.

Chennai and Coimbatore have taken a significant first step. Now, they must stay the course—scaling these successes across other cities of Tamil Nadu, building systems, and creating streets where walking, cycling, and shared mobility are not just possible, but preferred.

By Varsha Vasuhe, Senior Associate, ITDP India

Edited by Kashmira Dubash, Deputy Director, ITDP India

Parking Reimagined: Chennai’s Parking Policy is Paving the Way for Better Streets

14th April 2025 by admin

Commuting in Chennai’s streets often feels like a game of Would You Rather?—except that the choices aren’t fun.

Would you rather drive in circles for 20 minutes looking for a parking spot, only to settle for an informal parking space with an arbitrary fee? Or walk on the roadside, dodging parked bikes and cars, weaving through traffic, and hoping for a safe path?

In Chennai, these aren’t just hypothetical scenarios, with a population of 15.37 million and 9.2 million registered vehicles, the Chennai Metropolitan Area (CMA) faces a severe parking crunch as there’s nearly two vehicles for every three people in the city. A driver struggling to park in a narrow lane, while a pedestrian—with an elderly companion or child—undertaking challenging obstacles on a short 500-meter walk, dodging haphazard parking one side and speeding vehicles on another- are common scenes we all encounter.

Sadly, neither choice makes the city easy to move around and aren’t working for anyone, just like how a would-you-rather game has no correct response.

But can the new parking policy and on-ground parking management be the answer, that can lead to a win-win situation for everyone using the street?

That’s exactly what Chennai has set course for. This year, the city took a historic step toward better parking management by launching a progressive Parking Policy for the entire 5,904 sq. km of the Chennai Metropolitan Area, which includes four corporations – Chennai, Tambaram, Avadi, Kancheepuram, 12 municipalities, 13 town panchayats, 22 panchayat unions and one special grade town panchayat. The policy was developed by the Chennai Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (CUMTA), which will not only plan, design and strategise, but also oversee its implementation and monitoring.

Since April 2022, ITDP India has been a key technical partner, supporting CUMTA in shaping this landmark policy.

*_{Stakeholder Meeting with GCC and GCTP in September 2022}*

This policy not only addresses the city’s growing parking challenges through area-level parking plans, Travel Demand Management measures, but also brought together key stakeholders—including Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC), Avadi and Tambaram Corporations, Traffic Police, Highways, and Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA)—through extensive consultations.

CUMTA’s Parking Policy: Transforming Urban Mobility

CUMTA’s newly adopted Parking Policy 2025 is more than just a set of regulations—it’s a transformative approach to managing limited parking space efficiently, reducing congestion, and improving mobility. Here’s a look at its key highlights of the policy:

1. Managing parking at the area level and creating neighbourhood wide solutions, to prevent spillovers

What does the policy say?
With the new policy, Chennai is shifting from scattered parking management in isolated streets, to a structured, Area-Level Parking (ALP) Management plan with demand-based pricing, clear regulations, and smart enforcement. The plan allocates parking spots in every street, based on the demand, and uses both ground teams and technology to manage parking efficiently across the neighbourhood.

Why is it important?
Managing parking in a few streets isn’t effective and can make the problem worse by causing spillover and more traffic in the adjoining streets. But when we look at a whole area and its network of streets together, we can address the neighbourhood’s need for parking more effectively. This also ensures that street space is used efficiently and is accessible to all street users. By using a demand-based pricing system, we can discourage unnecessary car/bike use and encourage people to choose more sustainable options, like public transport or cycling.

*_{Site Visit in Anna Nagar Chennai towards preparation of ALP (CUMTA x ITDP India x Street Matrix)}*

2. Prioritising Pedestrians, Cyclists, and Public Transport users, Before Parking

What the policy says?
The policy ensures that the city agencies build safe, continuous footpaths and well-integrated NMT infrastructure. The policy gives precedence to footpath allocation over parking. The policy ensures that parking space is allocated to a street, only after sufficient footpaths and carriageway space is available.

Why is it important?
More than 60% of trips starts and ends on foot. Poor footpaths/no footpaths push pedestrians onto carriageways, increasing their exposure to moving vehicles and reducing safety. Presence of NMT infrastructure reduces vehicle dependence, easing parking demand, and optimising street space, ensuring safer, more inclusive streets. This way parking plans will also nudge the city agencies to ensure walkable footpath are available, leading to wider footpath coverage.

*_{Pedestrian Plaza at T.Nagar with On-Street Parking Management.}*

3. Demand-Based Dynamic Pricing and Smart Enforcement to Shape People’s Parking Behaviour

What does the policy say?
Parking rates under the new policy will be dynamic based on the area. It will vary, by vehicle size, location of the parking spot, time of day, and demand. On-street parking will be priced higher than off-street options (government or private MLCPs, parking lots, etc.). This will nudge those wanting to park their vehicles for long term (more than 2 hours) to look for off-street options and allowing the on-street parking lots to be open for short terms users. Prepaid parking will replace postpaid models to encourage planned usage.
As per the parking policy, enforcement measures will be taken up for the following kind of violations: double parking, parking in no-parking zone, parking on footpath, non-payment of parking fees etc. These violations will be discouraged with the use of technological interventions through sensors, cameras, etc. and on-ground parking teams.

Why is it important?
Pricing strategies help manage demand for parking, reduce congestion, and discourage personal vehicle user. Only those willing to pay end up coming in cars and bikes, while the rest may turn to other sustainable options.
For example, T. Nagar, a bustling commercial area, has a higher parking charge of Rs. 60 per hour for cars, while in other areas, the charge is Rs. 20 per hour.
In contrast, the proposed parking charges for Anna Nagar are Rs. 40 per hour. These rates have been set based on factors such as, how majority of the people commute while visiting the area, availability of public transport, land use, and considerations for traffic management.
Enforcement strategies are an important tool for behaviour change. The focus of the policy is to not penalise the violator but discourage the violations. By adding penalties and punitive actions to the violations, people’s parking habits can be modified for the better.

*_{Comprehensive on-street and off-street parking fee strategy at Pedestrian Plaza at T.Nagar}*

4. Chennai to take a centralised approach to parking management with a Parking Management Unit (PMU)

What does the policy say?
The policy establishes the need for a single authority to manage parking holistically. The Parking Management Unit (PMU) will be this single authority and will function under CUMTA. It will be responsible for planning, pricing, enforcement, and implementation across agencies.

Why is it important?
A single authority streamlines decision-making, prevents fragmented implementation across agencies, and ensures consistency in pricing, enforcement, and monitoring. In many other cities, this was a critical reason why parking policies failed to bring the results as expected, as the implementation and enforcement were split among multiple agencies.

5. Policy allows for Legal & Policy Amendments to other key legislations

What does the policy say?
For on-street parking spaces: As per the policy, Traffic Police, Urban Local Body, and Road Owning Agency can pass an official order to delegate parking responsibility and enforcement to CUMTA’s PMU. This will ensure seamless management across agencies.
For off-street parking spaces: The policy recommends amendments to TNCDBR (Development Control Regulations of TN). This will help redefine how much off-street parking must be made provided in any property development. For example, in areas with high coverage of public transport, the overall number of permissible parking lots is reduced. This follows the concept of parking maximums, to ensure people use the public transport that is easily available and are not dependent on personal vehicles.

*_{Meeting at CUMTA with CEPT-CRDF (TNCDBR Consultant) in August 2023}*

Why is it important?
Contextualising the existing legal framework is critical for effective enforcement, regulatory clarity, and integrating parking seamlessly into urban planning frameworks. As per the current legal framework, the parking management roles are fragmented with Traffic Police and Urban Local Bodies on planning, pricing, implementation and enforcement. The new policy allows CUMTA to take up the responsibility from different agencies and be the sole management unit- through the PMU.

6. Parking Fee collected from the area to be re-invested back in the area

What does the policy say?
Surplus parking revenue will be ring-fenced for local improvements, including better footpaths, cycling infrastructure, and public spaces. This approach ensures that the benefits of effective parking management are directly felt by the community, enhancing the quality of life and encouraging more sustainable modes of transport.

Why is it important?
Unlike traditional models where parking fees is looked at as a general pool of revenue, not linked to any one location, Chennai’s Parking Policy ensures that the revenue collected is re-directed to prioritise improvements in that specific location.
Currently, the annual parking revenue in Anna Nagar is approximately Rs. 35 lakhs. However, with effective parking management, it is estimated that this could increase to Rs. 3.3 crore per year. This is because, the current practice in Anna Nagar involves pricing per parking slot, rather than, an hourly basis, and not all streets have designated parking slots, resulting in an isolated approach. In contrast, the proposed plan adopts a cluster approach with hourly pricing, ensuring a more organised and efficient system. This revenue will be reinvested into improving Anna Nagar’s mobility, streets, green spaces, etc.

Future-Proofing Chennai’s Streets

The policy also allows for some future-proof strategies like Urban Freight Management, EV charging integration, Travel Demand Management.

Urban Freight Management: This is a structured city-level and area-level approach to regulate the movement of goods. This ensures dedicated loading/unloading zones are allocated on the streets to reduce congestion and improve last-mile logistics.
EV Charging Integration: To ensure that streets can accommodate the growing number of electric vehicles (EVs), the parking policy emphasises the need to integrate both on-street and off-street e-charging infrastructure. By planning for EV charging within parking spaces, the policy supports the shift to cleaner mobility.
Travel Demand Management (TDM): The policy also allows to create customised strategies for schools, workplaces, and commercial hubs by promoting sustainable commuting options, staggered work hours, and shared mobility to reduce peak-hour congestion.

How will CUMTA ensure this policy is implemented well and monitored?

Currently CUMTA has kickstarted the implementation of the policy through Area Level Plan in Anna Nagar. They will roll it out by hiring parking service providers who will manage collection of fees, enforcement etc. This will be a pilot intervention, learnings from which will inform future implementation. Since this is a technology driven parking management plan, CUMTA has also initiated the development of a parking app and a centralised command center for monitoring. The implementation of this pilot will be monitored through 14 robust Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

Conclusion

Chennai’s streets, once vibrant corridors of life, now prioritise metal over people. And for years, moving through the city has felt like a never-ending game of Would You Rather?—drive in circles hunting for parking or weave through a maze of parked vehicles on foot.

The Parking Policy changes that. It doesn’t force citizens to choose between driving and walking or taking public transport. Instead, it ensures that everyone gets their fair share of space on the road.

This policy isn’t just a document—it’s the end of a bad game and the beginning of a better city. And that’s a milestone worth celebrating.

By Sangami Nagarajan, Associate Urban Planning,
With Inputs from Venugopal AV, Programme Manager

Edited by Donita Jose

ITDP India Programme: A Decade of Impact

24th February 2020 by admin

Infographic Blog

“All urban residents of Indian cities should have access to jobs, education, and recreation through means of mobility that are safe, affordable, resource-efficient, environment-friendly, and accessible to all.”

Over the last 20 years, the ITDP India Programme has worked with nearly 40 cities across the country to make this vision a reality, impacting the lives of millions.

We celebrate the completion of a glorious decade of work, and welcome a new one with renewed excitement and anticipation of the possibilities ahead.

Designed by Keshav Suryanarayanan

Conceptualised by Aishwarya Soni, Keshav Suryanarayanan

Parking Management in the Pedestrian Plaza

6th December 2019 by admin

An Infographic Blog

Conceptualised and Designed by Kawin Kumaran
Content created by Nashwa Naushad, AV Venugopal
Photographs by TD Achuthan

Priceless Parking: The hidden costs of parking

11th October 2019 by admin

The first two days of September saw two big changes to make India’s streets safer, freer and less congested. The new Motor Vehicles rules came into force on the first of September, attempting the impossible, controlling the behaviour of Indian motorists on the streets. Through heavier penalties, the rules seek to reduce violations. On September 2, the Supreme Court released a judgment on the Delhi Maintenance and Management of Parking Places Rules 2019, under the umbrella of the MC Mehta case. This judgment can be seen as a landmark not just for improving parking management in our cities, but also for other steps towards reclaiming spaces for pedestrians.

*Pedestrians walking on the street due to space taken up by parking*

Our cities are known for their chaotic streets. Pedestrians and cyclists competing with other vehicles for space on the streets is a common sight. This is further exacerbated by the ever increasing need for parking space for all these vehicles, mostly on the street or on footpaths, blocking the movement of traffic and pedestrians. The Supreme Court judgment begins with an admonishment of the state for its failure to provide adequate public transport, and mismanaging the consequences of that failure, the increasing number of private vehicles that have taken over our streets.

The judgment has taken some progressive first steps, emphasising some important aspects such as the need for footpaths in all residential areas to be cleared of encroachments to make it usable for pedestrians, and the significance of modern technology in ensuring efficient utilisation of parking spaces. It also raises the possibility of charging people for parking, though leaving that decision to the state.

However, there are some aspects of the judgment that need more scrutiny. The judgment also called on city planners and architects to provide adequate off-street parking at major demand hubs – commercial and institutional areas, transportation hubs, etc – accommodating the potential demand for the next 25 years. The order touches multiple times on creating off street parking spaces to cater to parking demand. This can be effective only post an effective on street demand based priced PM system.

*Underutilised Multi-Level-Car parking structures (Credit:* *The Indian Express*)

Multilevel car parking (MLCP) complexes are one such solution to provide off-street parking. It is a popular myth that high parking demand can be addressed by building MLCP complexes. However, examples from India and around the world clearly indicate that it is a short-sighted attempt. In India, these MLCPs are built at great public cost and remain underutilised and vacant in many cases. Most often, the high demand is an apparent local demand, centred around one or two streets with higher levels of activity (commercial for example), while the other streets in the neighbourhood are relatively free of vehicular parking. This demand could be eased by zone-based on-street parking management, so that parking supply is distributed evenly across different streets in the neighbourhood. Hence, detailed studies are required before proposing new MLCPs.

Another way to provide off-street parking are requirements that already exist in the Development Control Regulations(DCR) set by local development authorities, but are not adhered to in many cases. That might not be such a bad thing.

These requirements are referred to as parking minimums. They are laws that require property developers to include a fixed number of off-street parking spaces according to the size of a building. The reasoning for this is that without enough off-street parking, efficient traffic flow can be compromised due to vehicles cruising for parking or parking on the street. These parking minimums can be extremely problematic in practice.

The hidden costs of parking

*Building regulations should be modified to remove minimum parking requirements, allowing developers to assess parking demand before creating parking (Parking Basics*)

Global experts on parking such as Donald Shoup and Paul Barter point out that providing for parking minimums has a cost. By forcing developers to build huge amounts of parking, these rules increase traffic and harm the environment by encouraging more people to drive. They also lead to inefficient land use. Planners and architects tend to overestimate the demand, providing more off-street parking than necessary, leading to wastage of space. The increased cost of development are then passed on to buyers, even those who may not own vehicles.

At the same time, there is a reluctance to engage with managing on-street parking demand. This leads to a situation where we see the extremes of large, empty parking lots and streets choked with parked vehicles. As a society, we should think about the sense in using up valuable space to prioritise private vehicle parking demand for the next twenty-five years.

Cities around the world have moved away from the concept of parking minimums, realising that they result in a wastage of both public and private land and investments. Mexico City has now converted their parking minimums into a parking maximum. This would change the high levels of mandated parking into the maximum allowed amount of parking, allowing developers to provide lower amounts of parking. Parking maximums are more effective because they ensure that excessive parking is not created based on norms, and developers can choose to provide less parking according to market demand. Any parking above 50 percent of the maximum would be charged and the revenues from this fee would be used to improve public transport and subsidise housing.

Across our cities, free parking is viewed as a right by motorists, leading to a reluctance by city authorities and private developers to charge the full cost of parking onto motorists. It is strange that most people are outraged at having to pay for parking, while showing no surprise on hearing the cost of property in commercial and residential areas. Why should the cost of land for parking not be the same as commercial or residential rental value in a locality? Charging people for parking would discourage personal motor vehicle use, shift to alternative modes and ensure that they pay for the valuable public space they use up for parking.

As the judgment rightly observed, a primary cause for our current situation has been the failure of our governments to provide adequate good quality public transport. While enforcing the new Motor Vehicles act and creating efficient parking management systems are much needed steps, they will fail to achieve their goals without the support of an efficient public transportation system and last mile connectivity.

Moving Forward

The judgment is a great start to a national level discussion on parking. Delhi has notified the Delhi Maintenance and Management of Parking Places Rules 2019 which aims to dramatically change parking in Delhi. The policy contains provisions to formulate hundreds of area-specific parking plans which will be developed in an exhaustive exercise over the next four months. Bengaluru and Hyderabad have also attempted to implement parking policies. Cities like Shimla and Gangtok have already created and approved city-wide parking policies. Chennai is also on the way to implementing a parking management system across the city.

Efficient parking management can be an effective way to ensure better streets and cities. Removing parking minimums and charging people for parking are important and necessary steps that can help cities to effectively manage the demand for parking. The judgment is a good starting point and Indian cities have already started taking the first steps towards this future.

Written by Keshav Suryanarayanan

Technical Direction: Vishnu Mohanakumar, AV Venugopal, Aswathy Dilip

Congestion Pricing: panacea to Mumbai’s transport woes

7th March 2019 by admin

Mumbai wears many tags: The City that Never Sleeps, The City of Dreams, The Maximum City, etc. Another moniker that aptly defines the conditions prevalent in the city could be ‘The City of Traffic Bedlam’. Such is the chaos that reigns supreme on the city’s pigeonholed roads, with private motor vehicles playing the usual suspects.

In light of the ever-rising transportation concerns, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA)—the agency responsible for urban planning in the Mumbai region—is keen to explore the feasibility of congestion pricing to reduce traffic congestion. A stakeholder focus-group meeting was held on 6 March, to understand various perspectives of congestion pricing, as part of a joint study initiated by MMRDA in collaboration with the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) India Programme.

A travel-demand management measure, congestion pricing aims to tackle the issue of road congestion, growing private vehicle use, and environmental pollution. Simply put, the approach will look to levy a charge on private vehicles for accessing a high-demand stretch or zone. These charges are aimed at discouraging usage of private vehicles, while improving and promoting public transport ridership.

A move long overdue

Mumbai has been renowned for its strong network of public transport systems such as the omnipresent BEST buses and the reliable ‘local trains’. But as middle-class ambitions grew, so did the car-craze. In the recent decade, private automobiles found safe sanctuaries in the homes and streets of Mumbai. Meanwhile, the BEST bus services continue to suffer due to declining fleet sizes and ridership; while the local trains, the city’s backbone, are bursting at the seams with unimaginable passenger load.

Greater Mumbai’s extravagant private vehicle growth and expenditure on related infrastructure cannot justify the paltry commute figures. Private vehicle numbers skyrocketed from 7.9 lakh in 2001 to 32 lakh in 2017! Even though they make up for only 12% of all trips, private vehicles occupy over three-fourth of road space, leaving the rest to the fringes. What happens when the 12% increases to 20% or even more? Constructing more roads or flyovers is not the answer – these are short sighted solutions that are expensive and unsustainable.

Decongest and get a move on

As per Uber Movement estimates, the average Mumbaikar spends 135% per cent more time on the road than their Asian counterparts. Thus, the move to congestion pricing is not about punishing the driver; it is more about ensuring people get to their destination faster and more affordably—with less environmental impact and less stress.

According to the MMRDA, congestion pricing will encourage a modal shift to public transport modes which is a healthy alternative for people and the environment. It is also understood that an effective congestion pricing strategy will increase average speed and reduce travel times by all modes, especially buses.

However, congestion pricing is a mere part of the bigger puzzle that looks to resolve traffic congestion in cities like Mumbai. “Mumbai should first try more simple traffic reduction measures like charging on-street parking and eliminating on-street parking from mobility corridors. That is slowing down buses. The buses run only about 160 km/day today, against 200 km just a few years ago. Buses have to run 200 km/day to be viable” says Harshad Abhyankar, Mobility Planning Specialist at the ITDP India Programme.

Presently, BEST buses share the carriageway with other vehicles and hence, their operating speed is adversely affected by traffic congestion. Haphazard parking increases friction on the street edge which further slows them down. Lower bus speeds generally result in fewer buses scheduled on routes, which only entices commuters to opt for the more ‘convenient’ option – their car or the two-wheeler. And this vicious cycle continues.

The move towards congestion pricing will allow Mumbai to explore the possibility of firstly, charging on-street parking to discourage the use of private vehicles, secondly, prioritising and strengthening the lifeline of the city – its BEST buses, and thirdly, investing in high-quality people-friendly infrastructure such as footpaths, cycle tracks, and dedicated bus lanes. For all of this to be successful, “a legislation that gives charge of all traffic reduction measures and related responsibilities to a single entity is desirable”, emphasised a participant at the focus group discussion.

No one enjoys being stuck in traffic. People stuck in traffic jams lose time, money, and their peace of mind. Congestion pricing is a measure to reduce traffic congestion – that is charging private vehicles for accessing a high-demand stretch or zone. The revenue generated can be levied to improve city bus services, and walking and cycling infrastructure – the more sustainable way of moving around. However, its application is an uphill task. The ITDP India Programme is excited to be working with MMRDA to learn from this initial meeting, further its understanding from international case studies, and explore possibilities of congestion pricing in Mumbai.

Move over traffic, Mumbaikars coming through (about time)!

Written by Rohit James and Kashmira Dubash.

Picture credit: Vincent Mivelaz, Flickr

Free parking is not a right, but a blight!

24th August 2018 by admin

In the 1970s when Joni Mitchell crooned “Big Yellow Taxi”, not many realised the clairvoyance and the forewarning that the song’s lyrics expressed. Though every bit of the lyric has its own essence and social messaging, the starting couplet is resounding. The verse—“They paved paradise, And put up a parking lot”—held a mirror up to society, and here we are four decades later, perplexed and baffled as to how we got here.

Automobiles are the scourge that drive up emission levels and other environmental issues, yet their numbers continue to rise unabashed. As per a report by the Centre for Science and Environment (Delhi), it took India 60 years (1951-2008) to cross the mark of 105 million registered vehicles. The same number of vehicles were added in a mere six years (2009 – 2015) thereafter!

But when you throw ill-conceived parking systems into this mix, it is like taking gasoline to a firefight. The backlash of this self-inflicted problem is found in every nook and corner of our cities, in all sorts of positions (angular, parallel, perpendicular) and scales (on-street, multi-level, automated).

In India, the conversation surrounding parking management is kindled every now and then, only to be impounded with plans of creating more parking spaces. Or even worse, buried six-foot deep with a parking lot as a symbolical headstone. Irony at its best.

So, why is it that dialogues on parking and its management generate public ire, whereas implausible measures—such as unchecked on-street free parking and multi-level parking—venerated. The answer lies in the psyche of vehicle owners and commuters in general, who lay fodder to a whole bunch of myths regarding parking management.

Now, what are these myths and how do the arguments hold; well, not as solid as the ground their vehicles are parked on.

Let’s deduce this argument with the adage, “Your liberty to swing your fist ends just where my nose begins”. A citizen has the liberty to own a vehicle, but it doesn’t entitle them to occupy a public space of their fancy. Furthermore, no text, context, and subtext of a right allows for the infringement of someone else’s right. Whereas, parking poses as an obstruction for someone to use that common public space from walking or cycling.

Clearly, parking is not a right or an entitlement, but a privilege which needs to be charged and heavily at that. A parking fee must be charged proportional to demand, factoring in criteria such as location, time of day, duration of parking, and category of vehicle (defined by size and type).

Take the case of Ranchi, where a pilot parking management project on the arterial MG Road stretch led to a 12-fold increase in parking revenue. Even the state of Jharkhand, spurred by the revenue spike at Ranchi’s pilot parking management project, invested efforts to regulate parking as a statewide policy. According to reports, Greater Chennai Corporation stands to gain Rs 55 crore per year in revenue from the pricing of about 12,000 ECS (equivalent car spaces) of parking in Chennai: a whopping 110 times increase in revenue from what it presently earns.

Cities can innovatively use parking revenue to encourage sustainable modes of transport. For example, Bicing—the public cycle-sharing program in Barcelona—is financed by its parking revenue. London’s Freedom Pass, which allows elderly (60+) and disabled residents to use public transport for free, is funded by the parking fees collected in many boroughs. You can find more about these cases and other best practices in ITDP’s publication, Europe’s Parking U-Turn: From Accommodation to Regulation.

As per Dalia Research, the average global commute time per workday is 1 hour 9 minutes, India’s commute estimate hovers around 1 hour 31 minutes. That figure helps us to the third spot in the global list, behind only Israel and the UAE. So does the solution of offering more parking space offer a concession on congestion, the answer is and has always been in the negative.

An analogy often used while talking about urban commute is “Travel time was so much lesser when there were lesser vehicle!”. Hence, parking is to private vehicles, what flame is to moths. More parking only begets more private vehicles to hit the road.

An excessive supply of parking will only encourage people to use personal motor vehicles—even when good public transport is available. Cities, therefore, need to limit total parking supply, including off-street and on-street parking. Based on the capacity of the road network, cities must set caps on the total quantum of parking available in each zone.

Most cities invest in developing multi-level car parks to resolve parking woes. But examples, from across the world and India, clearly indicate that it is a myopic attempt. Over time such infrastructures only turn into ‘big white elephants’.

Take the example of Bengaluru’s 11 multi-storeyed parking complexes—Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Company (BMTC) owns nine and the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) owns two. According to a Bangalore Mirror report, these “ghost storey” parking lots barely have 20-30% occupancy, reason being parking on roads or pavements is easier, since it is free and the safer.

“Multi-level car parking doesn’t solve parking woes, better on-street management does. Multi-level parking structures remain empty while people continue to park on the streets as long as it remains free and unenforced,” said Shreya Gadepalli, ITDP India Programme Lead. Thus, cities must manage and enforce on-street parking effectively before building any off-street parking facilities, public, or private.

In 2009, Janette Sadik-Khan, the then transportation commissioner of New York City, envisioned Times Square to be a car-free zone. That is, the hub would be less of a conduit for vehicles and an urban space where people could freely walk, sightsee, dine, and take in the magnanimity that is New York. Though there were initial reservations, the results were quite remarkable and by 2010 the changes were made permanent. Citylab reported that “business for merchants in the area was booming, and travel times for cars actually went down”.

There are plenty of such examples be it Hong Kong—where demand for commercial establishments rose post pedestrianisation, Copenhagen—a pilot pedestrian project from 1962 has since reclaimed 100,000 sq.m of motorised transit. Here in India, the Mall Road in Shimla, Temple Street in Madurai, and Heritage Street in Amritsar are examples of how reinventing urban design to focus on pedestrianisation does not affect commercial establishment as feared.

People over parking: regulations allows better streets, better cities, better lives

In conclusion, the need of the hour is to regulate parking, not to take it off the table. Policies which focus on parking management not only help in easing congestion, emissions, and travel time, but also are a feasible revenue generation model for a city. A robust management system clearly defines parking zones, pegs user fee to demand, and uses an IT-based mechanism for information, payment, and enforcement—discussed at length in ITDP’s Parking Basics.

The conversation revolving around parking management has been catching up, with ITDP India Programme offering plausible solutions to cities. Leading the conversation is Pune, which is on the verge of implementing a parking management policy—a demand-based parking system that smoothens traffic movement.

Multiple studies allude that personal cars and two-wheelers occupy most of our street space, yet serve less than a fourth of all trips. They also sit idle for 95 per cent of the time—consuming over a third of street space that could be used more effectively as footpaths, cycle tracks, and bus rapid transit (BRT). The discourse over urban mobility shouldn’t revolve around parking, rather the onus must be on transit-oriented development. Wherein, last-mile connectivity and rapid system of transit ensure movement of people and not just vehicles. As cities evolve, there is an urgent need to step away from an oblivious “man proposes and parking disposes” mentality.

More resources from ITDP on parking management and reforms:

Parking Basics

Park it right

InFocus: Revolutionary Parking Reforms

Parking: Searching for the good life

Sizing Up Parking Space

U.S. Parking Policies: An Overview of Management Strategies

Pune Parks it Right!

30th April 2018 by admin

“Congratulations to Pune on taking this important step! If the going gets tough, always remember WHY the streets need parking management. The fees, the enforcement and the well-designed parking spaces are needed to make sure that parking happens in an orderly way, only in the right places and that it is almost never too full (so newcomers can find a space to park).” Dr. Paul Barter, Urban transport researcher, policy advisor and trainer.

The renowned parking policy expert’s words ring true: making streets inclusive and people-friendly is one of the biggest challenges cities face today, and a key part of the puzzle lies in a system we mistakenly take for granted: parking. In a laudable move, Pune Metropolitan Corporation (also known as PMC) has approved a public parking policy that aims to manage on-street parking through an efficient paid parking system. Ultimately, it will shift people from private vehicles toward sustainable modes such as walking, cycling and using public transport.

PMC heralds a new era of travel demand management by regulating on-street parking. ITDP provided technical expertise to draft the Policy. The Policy introduces an efficient paid parking system, an intelligent transportation system that facilitates payment, and the creation of a management cell that oversees implementation. The outcome – a demand-based parking system that smoothens traffic movement – is avant-garde in India.

DP Road, Aundh is an example of street design that includes clear parking spots

It’s widely known that private vehicles are voracious consumers of space because they require a parking spot at each leg of a journey- at home, at the market, and at the office. Streets are crowded with parked vehicles that block traffic and turn walkways into obstacle courses for pedestrians. A parking policy is needed to ensure that the frustration and hassle of parking is addressed sustainably and efficiently.

The policy proposes to regulate on-street parking by clearly demarcating legal and restricted parking spaces, in accordance to Pune’s Urban Street Design Guidelines. The street design guide, which was adopted by the city in 2016, sets standards for designing street elements and provides a collection of street design templates catering to the needs of all road users.

The policy proposes clearly demarcating legal and restricted parking spaces

According to the policy, parking rates will be determined across the city for both on-street and off-street parking, depending on location, time and type of vehicles. Pune’s parking policy has determined parking fees based on vehicle dimensions, parking demand at particular locations, time (peak or off-peak hours), and occupancy to enable a fair fee structure. Revenue from parking fees can help fund further improvement in public transport and parking management.

The Policy aims to be proactive in ensuring that parking information is available to commuters through various means (such as real time digital displays, smartphone apps etc.) to reduce redundant trips for hunting parking spaces. In a move to promote cycling as an affordable and sustainable mode of transport, the policy exempts bicycle parking from any charge. Exemptions are also extended to daytime ambulances, special-aid vehicles and paratransit parked in designated lots.

Once implemented, the policy promises efficiency to travel demand management in the city. As a significant step towards holistic and sustainable urban transport planning, parking management can help Pune become a ‘world-class’ city!