MCD asks schools to re-draw their parking policies

NEW DELHI, JUL 20: To ease the increasing traffic chaos in the capital, the MCD has decided to ask all city schools to re-draw their existing parking policies failing which the civic body may contemplate strict action.
The MCD will also ask under-construction schools to give first priority to parking space in their premises, Standing Committee Chairman Vijender Kumar Gupta said.
Earlier this week, MCD had written a letter to Police Commissioner Y S Dadwal, asking him to instruct schools to park their private vehicles, including those driven by parents dropping or picking up their children, inside the premises.
"We will ask all the schools, including the under-construction ones to re-draw their existing parking policies. We want them to seriously address this issue as it is leading to inconvenience to commuters," Gupta said.
"We want schools to take some concrete steps in this direction. If they fail to do so, then we will see whether strict steps are required to be taken. Let us give them (schools) their own time to take action," said Gupta.
Long queues of school buses and private vehicles in the morning and afternoon have led to long-stretched traffic jams with residents of the locality and other commuters finding it difficult to drive on the roads in front of the schools.
Resident Welfare Associations have long been asking the civic body to redress the issue.
"We had on a number of occasions discussed the issue with RWAs. After reviewing the situation, we had written a letter to the Police Commissioner," Gupta said, adding that most of the RWAs have welcomed the proposal saying it would help in reducing traffic congestion.
Gupta, however, admitted that the initial response from the schools have not been favourable and they seem reluctant to implement the proposal of parking inside the premises.
"We are looking at the responses from the side of the schools, which according to initial reports have not been able to develop a consensus on the issue. But, let them take their own time and decisions," Gupta said.
The MCD in its letter to the Police Commissioner had also asked the schools to make full use of land available with them and convert them into parking lots.
Police have reacted positively to the letter and asked school principals during meetings to regulate traffic at both the picking-up and dropping time of students. (PTI)