SMART PARKING FOR SMART CITY
In a bid to streamline traffic congestion, while creating an additional stream of income, the Colombo Municipality will introduce the Smart Parking facility by the end of September, the Traffic Design and Road Safety Division of the Municipality said yesterday.
Director of the Division, Manjula Kularatne speaking to the Daily Mirror said that officials had completed ground work for the pilot project which had begun four years ago.
Motorists will pay parking fees to the parking meter set up at the site. “They have the option of paying by cash or the mobile app (Tenaga Park Smart app) or smart parking cards. We are hoping to establish a card payment method option at the site after the programme is launched and the smart parking cards are already available in selected telecommunication outlets,” he said.
A vehicle will travel across the city, inspecting parking areas while the municipality will appoint officers to inspect the spaces at random. “If motorists do not pay the fee, the tires of their vehicles will be locked and if the fines and fees are yet not paid the vehicle will be impounded,” he said.
The state of the art technology used was connected to the RMV data base and would keep a record of all vehicles which not only used the parking slots but motorists who did not pay the relevant fee. “The charge sheet will be sent to the person the vehicle is registered to.”
When questioned about the role played by the police in the programme, Kularatne said the project was the sole responsibility of the Municipality.
A 100 meters will be set up within the city, each of which has the capacity to charge fees for 20 slots. Officers will also be appointed to each parking meter to help motorists during the first three months, he said.
Parking meters have been installed along the Galle Road from the Dehiwela flyover to the Galle Face roundabout and along the R. A De Mel Mawathat from Dharmarama Mawatha to the Liberty roundabout and connecting by roads.
Speaking of the existing system, Kularatne said the parking fee was collected manually by municipality workers since late 1980’s and later by authorized private personnel due to the scarcity of employees.
“Currently there were over a hundred Municipality employees in green uniforms and private employees in orange uniforms collecting parking fees within the city.”
The municipality had earned Rs. 100 million last year through the manual collection of parking fees, after officials put an end to various rackets carried out by employees, which they hoped to see increased once the programme is initiated.
“We learnt that collectors steal the money without issuing the parking ticket. Sometimes they can’t carry lot of money and also face inconvenience without ‘change money’. Motorists are also claiming that the operators are over charging. This programme will not only reduce traffic congestion but also resolve other related issues,” he said.
Tenders for the Private Public Partnership were called for by the Municipality in January 2016 due to the high cost of implementing the project. The project was awarded to the highest bidder who proposed the highest percentage from the revenue generating from the system.
The tender for the ‘Smart parking for Smart City’ was granted for eight years with the cost of implementation borne by the project company, during which earnings are to be divided at a percentage of 40 : 60. The municipality will acquire the parking meters once the project period has expired, the official said. PICS BY NISAL BADUGE
Motorists are also claiming that the operators are over charging. This programme will not only reduce traffic congestion but also resolve other related issues If motorists do not pay the fee, the tires of their vehicles will be locked and if the fines and fees are yet not paid the vehicle will be impounded