Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) on Wednesday launched a book/study report, suggesting developing the paid-parking culture in the federal capital to mitigate traffic congestion effectively in the metropolis.
Speaking at the launching ceremony of a book titled “Traffic Management & Congestion Mitigation: Parking Policy for ICT”, PIDE’s former Chief of Research Dr Idrees Khawaja, the study undertaken on the demand of the Capital Development Authority argued that free-parking encouraged car use beyond the optimal limit, a news release said.
To devise a pilot parking plan for Islamabad, the PIDE team surveyed 66 parking locations in 17 busy markets of Islamabad to determine the “demand and supply of parking.” The survey findings suggested that the parking demand exceeded the supply at several locations during several hours of the day; forcing motorists to spend extra time and fuel to find a suitable place even in streets to their vehicles. A survey was also undertaken at selected locations to assess the willingness to pay for Parking that suggested around 69.3 per cent of the parkers were willing to pay for the facility. —APP
