With the decks getting cleared of interference and work stoppages, the parking plaza underneath Lindsay Street opposite New Market is now ready for what it is meant for. According to new plans, it is slated for inauguration around Bengali New Year’s day at the hands of CM, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee.
The project builder, Simplex Projects Limited, has earlier made the Parkomat, a multi-level parking bay on Rawdon Street, off Park Street cemetery in 2001. Both have computerized operation, where a car left at entry level will be taken by computer-controlled elevator to the floor where vacant slot is available.
New Market plaza, which was due for commissioning end 2003, suffered delays caused agitation and interference by local residents and politicians, and New Market traders.
After this one, the next vertical parking bay on the anvil is The Courtyard, the new ‘Forum’ address adjacent to its present building on Elgin Road. The Courtyard, a designer piece, will house helix parking slots from 2nd to 6th floor, while each floor is connected with long corridors with Forum to enable easy movement of people. See my post, Calcutta International School and Forum.
During the recent pre-construction stone-laying ceremony of The Courtyard, city’s mayor spoke of the need to have many more vertical parking bays in the metropolis since the city’s road space is too constrained to accommodate increasing number of vehicles parked there.
There is talk of making an underground multi-level parking plaza at Laldighi opposite Writers Building, which when implemented (presently there’s a feud between KMDA and PWD as to who’ll do the work – wonder why!), will mainly accommodate all the hired government cars.
The time is already past when thoughts should have been spared to free the city from burdening burgeoning number of cars. But then, as they say, better be late than never. The next step, already overdue, will be to severely curb the waywardness of city buses. When will that happen is anybody’s guess.
Related reading: Parking lot unveil, after a lot of dawdle
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