Residents and visitors to Chandigarh's bustling Sector 17 may soon find relief from the area's notorious and chronic parking shortage. The city administration is taking a two-pronged approach to address the gridlock, focusing on both reviving decades-old defunct facilities and constructing brand new multi-level underground parking complexes as part of a major rejuvenation project for the commercial hub.
Reviving Old Plans and Inspecting New Sites
The Chandigarh administration, led by Deputy Commissioner Nishant Kumar Yadav, is actively revisiting long-pending plans to ease the severe parking crunch. The focus is particularly on the areas around the DC office and Bank Square, where demand for parking spaces far exceeds the available capacity.
Following an on-site inspection of the parking issues conducted on Tuesday, DC Yadav directed the UT urban planning department to submit concrete plans for underground parking facilities. "To tackle the acute parking shortage in the sector, especially around the DC office and Bank Square, I directed the UT urban planning dept to submit plans for underground parking facilities," stated Yadav.
This initiative includes looking at underground parking lots constructed nearly five decades ago. These facilities were closed down after a structural audit by IIT Roorkee raised serious safety concerns. Their potential revival is now back on the table.
Three New Multi-Level Parking Facilities Proposed
In a parallel move, detailed plans for three new underground parking lots, prepared under the Sector 17 rejuvenation project, are being reconsidered. A senior UT official revealed that while these plans, along with a recommendation from RITES a few years ago, had stalled, a recent high-level meeting has breathed new life into the project.
The poor public response to the Municipal Corporation's existing multi-level underground parking had previously slowed progress. However, the administration has now decided to revisit and potentially revive these plans on at least two of the identified sites. The UT Chief Secretary has also instructed the MC Commissioner to ensure optimal use of the currently operational multi-level parking in the sector, which has seen improved usage lately after initial struggles with structural safety and user adoption.
Location and Massive Capacity of Proposed Lots
The three sites reserved for the new multi-level underground parking facilities are strategically located to maximize impact:
- One site is in front of the SBI building, adjacent to the KC Theatre.
- The second is located adjacent to the Anand Theatre.
- The third and largest site is near the electric sub-station.
According to the RITES proposal, these new facilities would provide a massive boost in capacity. The plan envisions additional parking for 3,648 cars across a total area of 34,800 square metres.
The breakdown of the proposed facilities is as follows:
Near Electric Sub-Station: This would be the largest facility, covering 6,000 square metres. It is proposed to have 4 basement levels with a capacity for 1,500 cars and would feature an automated parking system.
Adjacent to Anand Cinema & KC Cinema: Each of these two lots near the north plaza (Bank Square area) would cover 3,900 square metres and have a capacity for 334 cars. They are intended to primarily serve the numerous offices located in that zone, with a combined capacity of 668 cars.
This comprehensive strategy aligns with the broader Chandigarh Parking Policy and Master Plan 2031, which emphasizes modernizing existing infrastructure while investing in new underground multi-level parking facilities to finally solve the city's persistent parking problems.
