Prayagraj: Parking vehicles along the roads of Civil Lines while stepping into a restaurant, hotel, shopping complex or retail outlet could soon prove costly. The Prayagraj Municipal Corporation (PMC) is preparing to impose stricter parking regulations across the city’s busiest commercial district.Beginning Aug, the civic body will implement a new parking policy on selected stretches of SP Marg, MG Marg and other prominent roads in Civil Lines to streamline traffic movement and reduce congestion. Officials said vehicle owners would have to use designated parking spaces instead of leaving their vehicles along the roadside.Under the proposed arrangement, two-wheeler owners will have to pay Rs 15 for parking their vehicles for up to two hours, while four-wheeler owners will be charged Rs 30 for the same duration. Vehicles parked in no-parking zones will be towed away, and owners may have to pay a penalty of up to Rs 900. However, the civic body plans to observe an initial one-month grace period before imposing the full penalty.Municipal authorities have already floated tenders for operating the parking facilities. Civic officials said the move is aimed at ensuring smoother traffic flow in the city’s commercial hub, which witnesses heavy vehicular movement throughout the day.The corporation is also planning to crack down on the unauthorised repair of vehicles along roadsides. Several roads in Civil Lines have effectively turned into makeshift workshops, with parked vehicles frequently occupying large sections of the carriageway and contributing to traffic bottlenecks.Meanwhile, PMC has proposed the construction of multilevel parking facilities near Lakshmi Talkies in Katra, Meena Bazaar in Chowk and Moti Park in Bahadurganj to tackle the growing parking problem in the city.Municipal commissioner Sai Teja said parking zones had been earmarked on major roads to facilitate the smooth movement of traffic. He added that the new system would help reduce congestion and improve traffic management in the city.Officials also pointed out that a multilevel parking facility with the capacity to accommodate around 400 vehicles already exists in Civil Lines. Despite this, motorists continue to leave their vehicles along roadsides, worsening congestion in the area.
