Liberty traders reject proposed parking plaza

[LahoreEstate]

* Traders say building at a distance from shops, will not solve parking problems

By Afnan Khan

LAHORE: Traders of the Liberty Market have termed the government’s plan to construct a seven-storey parking plaza behind the United Christian Hospital unfeasible and said another site proposed by the previous government for parking is more convenient for the visitors.

The traders told Daily Times on Sunday that former chief minister (CM) Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi had already approved a multi-storey parking plaza opposite the current Liberty Market parking area.

CM Shahbaz Sharif inaugurated the parking plaza a couple of days ago, despite traders’ requests to execute the previous plan because it gave easy access to the shops.

Under the current plan, the government will build two plazas, and the Traffic Engineering and Planning Agency (TEPA) has started work on the first one inaugurated by the CM.

However, traders said the project would not solve parking problems. Liberty Market Qaumi Tajir Ittehad leader Babar Ali Bhatti told Daily Times that the government did not pay heed to the traders’ demands.

He said former CM Elahi had initiated the project and even allocated four-kanal land opposite the current parking for it. He said the feasibility report of the plaza also included an overhead bridge and a subway to ensure easy access for the customers to the market, while the current plaza was at a distance from the shops and would trouble the customers.

He said the government should remove its biases and give priority to public ease. “Our clientele comprise women, children and elderly people. None of them would be able to park their vehicles so far away and cross heavy traffic to reach the market. It’s not a public friendly idea for sure,” Babar said.

He said a multi-storey plaza, not as far as the government proposed, was already situated behind the market but did not solve parking problems.

He said visitors and traders were the main stakeholders of the facility, but the government did not listen to any of them and went on with its plan. He said they had allocated at least three floors of the seven-storey plaza for commercial purposes, which indicated that the government might oblige favourites by allotting them shops there.

The second parking plaza will be constructed at a cost of Rs 559 million near the Liberty petrol pump. The five-storey building will accommodate 253 cars. Two basements and the ground floor will be used for parking and the two upper floors will be used for offices.

Features:
Plaza will be constructed on almost four kanals at a cost of Rs 500 million
Building will be completed within a year
It will have capacity for 206 cars
There will be shops in the basement and on the second floor
A restaurant will be built on the first floor
Third, fourth, fifth floors and rooftop will be used as parking space

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp...009_pg13_1