Parking of vehicles in capital is as disorderly as it used to be

Scattered parking of vehicles in the capital continues to be a menace for commuters and hinders their movement on roads. The lack of designated parking spaces for commercial buildings, markets, and city buses has led to vehicles being parked on the roads, causing severe gridlocks and a huge loss of productivity. There is no clear parking policy in place as of yet to address the issue. An initiative to prepare a policy by Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA) is still in the works.
In December 2021, the ministry held a meeting on the draft policy and sent it back to DTCA to incorporate some issues. In August 2022, Dhaka North City Corporation announced the launch of a pilot project, titled “Smart Parking”, at eight locations. The project was supposed to start by September 2022 in Gulshan. A mobile application was also developed in this regard. However, to date, the project is yet to commence. Later in November 2022, DTCA formed a 16-member committee to finalise the draft. The committee could not sit for a meeting on this as of yet.
According to the draft policy, the local authorities — with approval from the DTCA — will determine parking demand, identify locations, and set fees. Local roads can be used for parking with a time-bound system, and multi-level parking lots may be considered for densely-populated areas. The local administration will maintain parking facilities and set fees based on various factors. Fees will be higher for on-street parking, and fines will be used for developing the parking system. The system will be implemented by the local administration and police with coordination and approval from the DTCA.
A comprehensive policy that addresses the parking crisis in its entirety is crucial for a permanent remedy to the crisis. Urbanists are in despair of the crawling traffic in the city due to road congestion, obviously parking on roads is a cause. We are still hoping for making the city liveable. But who takes the batons?