Slowdown at Simpark Festive rush adds to chaos - Parking pain
The traffic department has blamed the showpiece automated parking plaza on Lindsay Street for the car crawl in and around one of the busiest festive shopping destinations in town.
Top police officers have requested the Calcutta Municipal Corporation (CMC), co-promoter of the Rs 32-crore Simpark, to look into the problem after cars lining up for an underground parking slot choked the length of Lindsay Street on Sunday. It was much the same on Wednesday, with cars having to wait as many as 20 minutes each for their turn on the hydraulic ramp.
The ripple effect on traffic around Lindsay Street left the traffic personnel on duty at the end of their tether.
“We first got a taste of it on Sunday, which was the start of the season of festive buying. Nothing moved along Lindsay Street for some time in the evening. We have spoken to the CMC and its partner (Simplex Projects Ltd) about the chaos,” additio18parkonal police commissioner K. Hari Rajan told Metro.
At 3.42pm on Wednesday, a Maruti Swift (WB 02U/9425) was third in a row of cars waiting to enter the plaza through the gate opposite Lindsay Hotel. The driver of the car, Biswanth Haith, switched off the engine after 15 minutes as the Simpark operators struggled to cope with the rush.
“It takes far less time to park along the road. Even the parking fee for an hour is less than the Rs 20 per hour that the plaza operators charge. My employer waited in the car for sometime and went shopping. I will probably still be in queue by the time he is back,” he said.
For drivers waiting to take their cars out of the plaza, the wait is just as long and frustrating. Depending on the car count on a given day, the waiting time is between 10 and 20 minutes. Cops fear it will get worse as the festive season peaks.
“There are four ramps to take the cars down and then come up with the ones that are to leave the parking lot. The waiting time increases when a ramp is returning with a parked car,” said an attendant at one of the gates.
Simplex Projects officials said the waiting time for each car was increasing because of the festive rush. “The queues you see are because this is the season for shopping. By January, we hope to start the fifth gate,” said Shantanu Banerjee, an official of the company.
Police have suggested that the hydraulic lifts be converted to electronic ones and the hawkers be removed. “I have asked the additional police commissioner to make suggestions that I will forward to the mayor,” said civic commissioner Alapan Bandyopadhyay.
