[sustran] Re: Chennai: NGO criticises proposal for constructionofmulti-storeyed parking lots

[arul rathinam]

Dear Mr.Anant

We are planning to organize a small citizen’s
consultation in April 2006 on ‘the Role of Railways in
Chennai Transport’ to prepare recommendations to for
Railway Ministry. Then we will have a larger meeting
with the Union Minister of State for Railways Mr. Velu
and other high officials.

We need advice.

ARUL

--- ganant at vsnl.com wrote:

---------------------------------

There is a lot of merit in what Jain says. Also, what
Pasumai Thayagam says is not really new. A proposal to
build a car park in or near the park in question was
raised even by the Government in power in the State
between 1996-2001 (the party in power then, the DMK,
is a political ally of Pasumai Thayagam's founding
party now, in the Indian federal government). The
parking lot plan was resisted by some
environmentalists and the media. There was not much
political support for such a stance six years ago, and
it was seen as a fringe demand by elitist
environmentalists who were opposed to development. 

There are many non-controversial sites available to
provide car parking at whatver user fee. As I have
mentioned earlier on this list, the Railway Ministry
of India is sitting on a lot of property, including
the underutilised stations of the Mass Rapid Transit
System between Beach and Thiruvanmiyur and the
suburban lines. 

Pasumai Thayagam (PT) is ideally placed to use its
excellent equation with the Union Minister of State
for Railways, Mr.Velu (who belongs to the party that
founded Pasumai Thayagam), to demonstrate the ideal
use of rail-private vehicle integration through park
and ride. 

PT must first work to reform the way the railway park
and ride system works. It has unclean, unsafe and
antiquated park and ride facilities for motorised two
wheelers and bicycles. Can these be improved? Can
there be tiered, clean, safe and accountable systems
in the railway stations? Will PT campaign to get
existing public buses to at least drive through these
station complexes wherever feasible ?

Anant

----- Original Message -----


From: Jain Alok <ajain at kcrc.com>

Date: Monday, March 13, 2006 9:16 am

Subject: [sustran] Re: Chennai: NGO criticises
proposal for constructionofmulti-storeyed parking lots

> It is highly unlikely that car users in Chennai can
be made to shift 
> immediately to public transport. This is the loud
minority and have 
> almost always gotten their way (it may be wrong but
it's a fact) in 
> India. But instead of opposing the car-parks, why
shouldn't one 
> ask for: 
> 
> - high parking charges with all of it going towards
improvement of 
> public transport 
> - corresponding pedestrianisation, BRT, MRT or
whatever is most 
> suitable(I remember when Singapore launched Area
Licensing, they built 
> multi-story car parks on the periphery of the cordon
and it worked 
> quitewell 
> - removal of grade-level parkings and converting
these lots into 
> publicspaces 
> 
> Alok 
> 
> -----Original Message----- 
> From: arul rathinam [arulgreen at yahoo.com] 
> Sent: Sunday, March 12, 2006 6:11 PM 
> To: Asia and the Pacific sustainable transport 
> Subject: [sustran] Chennai: NGO criticises proposal
for construction 
> ofmulti-storeyed parking lots 
> 
> NGO criticises proposal for construction of 
> multi-storeyed parking lots 
> 
> 
> 
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> SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of
> people-centred, equitable and sustainable transport
> with a focus on developing countries (the 'Global
> South'). Because of the history of the list, the
> main focus is on urban transport policy in Asia.


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