Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) is seeking parking options to address road traffic congestion inside the capital. Kathmandu has witnessed steady increment in private vehicles plying the roads for the past few years. And the increase in private vehicles has caused congestion and disruption in traffic movement.
KMC has been trying its best to reduce the road traffic congestion inside the valley from the very beginning. And this time, KMC is emphasizing on the parking options to address road traffic congestion. The officials have also said that the core city areas will soon be declared “walk-only zones”.
Nama Raj Dhakal, joint Spokesperson at KMC has set a target of declaring the core city areas to be “walk-only zones” in the next five years. To meet the target, KMC will be building parking lots for vehicles outside the core city areas, so that people can park their vehicles in the parking lots before entering the “walk-only zones” in inner-city areas.
Dhakal said, “Parking lots will be an option for parking vehicles before entering the walk-only zones. Inner city areas will be declared vehicle free – “walk-only zones” after parking lots are built and their operation begins.”
He also said that the inner areas like Bhedasingh, Indrachowk to Thamel, Ason, Chhetrapati, Basantapur Durbar Square area, among others, will be declared walk-only zones initially. KMC has decided to develop digital parking lots just outside the inner areas to make it easier for the people to park their vehicles. KMC officials said that Dharmapath would be an ideal location to build parking lots.
One of the popular tourist hubs in Kathmandu, Thamel was declared a “vehicle-free zone” last month with the concerted efforts of stakeholders and local authorities.
KMC had proposed constructing a multi-parking facility at New Road, Khullamanch, and Lainchaur last year. The construction of an underground parking facility in New Road was proposed at a cost of NPR. 550 million, Likewise, parking systems in Khullamanch and Thamel were proposed at a cost of NPR. 3 billion and NPR. 2 billion respectively.
We hope that KMC’s target to build parking options to address road traffic congestion will soon be seen in action.
Reference: The Himalayan Times