Islamabad: Streets getting narrower as number of parked cars increases

[Naveed Yaseen]

Residential sectors long for peace of the past:

By Imran Naeem Ahmad
ISLAMABAD: Islamabad’s streets appear to be getting narrower with more and more households now having two to three cars many of which have to be parked not in the porch but out on the roads.

The streets are today lined by vehicles of all makes and sizes that belong either to the people living there or are those of employees whose organisations operate out of residential areas.

While there might be nothing wrong with parking cars on the street yet it is their sheer number and the haphazard manner in which this is done that causes inconvenience.

In some of the sectors like G-10 and I-9 where the streets are already quite narrow, parking there means that motorists have to squeeze past with much difficulty. Backing up a vehicle out of one’s porch is even more troublesome in such a scenario.

The many offices, restaurants, guesthouses and showrooms set up in residential sectors illegally have clearly made the problem go worse. Each morning hundreds of cars stream into the once-quite streets and stay put for long hours.

The schools and educational institutions running their operations from private houses also cause great disturbance in what used to be peaceful neighbourhoods. “I wish our streets become as tranquil as they were in the good old days,” said Umer Farooq.

The Islamabad Citizens’ Committee (ICC) also sees the crowding of residential areas as a “nuisance” and continues to urge the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to sort out the matter of non-conforming use of houses.

One member of the committee told Daily Times on Wednesday that the CDA would do well to evict all such businesses and offices or at least provide them parking lots away from the streets.

“Only the other day, I counted as many 100 cars parked outside one of the offices in Sector F-7 which pose a serious problem to the people living there,” he pointed out. “Why can’t those working in this office park their vehicles at Jinnah Market and walk up to their place of work,” he asked.

He thought that it was about time that paid parking was introduced in Islamabad to counter this menace. “In many countries this system has been adopted successfully, so why can’t we have it here,” he said. The residents believe that if the people can drive flashy new cars worth millions why would they not pay to park.

It is understood that the CDA previously attempted to introduce paid parking in a couple of markets in town but it did not work out with the traders complaining that their businesses suffered.

However, the locals want CDA to be more active in tackling such matters that are fast spiraling out of control. “I think the city fathers do not seem too bothered with what is going on in our streets,” said Asif Taj, a resident.

Officials in CDA stress that through pressure and persuasion they were tackling the issue of non-conforming use of houses but they kept running into legal hurdles.

A recent survey conducted by CDA shows that that there are around 795 houses being used for commercial purposes. Out of these 325 serve as offices of various organizations.

Although the authorities do issue notices to violators, the progress has been relatively slow with over 150 houses having been cleared of commercial use.

Many residents said that only if offices within the residential sectors were moved, the many cars that stay parked for long hours would go away too. Others believe this to be a wishful thinking.

“We have a very weak system and enforcement of our civic laws is only half-hearted,” Raja Tahir, a web designer summed it all up.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp...08_pg11_11