Roadside Parking Woes in Kohima- Is There a Way Out?

The untold miseries caused by roadside vehicular parking on the highways and service lanes in Kohima have become an undeniable reality to live in. Though it needs no overemphasis on the roadside parking along with roadside encroachment being a major contributor to traffic jam and various ills associated with it, the limited scope and foreseeable obstacles despite the best of intention must invariably be making one resign to one’s fate. The only consolation is that of the unceasing coordinated efforts of the District Administration, Regional Transport Authority, Police and Department of Urban Development in addressing pressing public issues as has been demonstrated through smart policing, systematisation of taxi parking areas, introduction of multilevel car parking system, etc.

In line with this pressing issue, few thoughts are shared which may not be read as solutions but as points that may help bring about critical analysis in the mind of readers and collectively bring out the best of solutions. Thus, the reason to start with the lines ‘what if’:

·         What if, regulations are framed where house owners and land owners are authorised to utilise the available space in their buildings and vacant plots for vehicular parking and collect fees at rates fixed by KMC (Kohima Municipal Council), wherein the vehicles so parked shall not extend into the designated public road.

·         What if, KMC in coordination with Regional Transport Authority formulate laws and regulations appropriately termed as “Neighbourhood Parking Scheme”; whereby, under this scheme, the Panchayats identify and make common lands available for vehicular parking and for establishment of multilevel parking system with government funding where management and collection of parking fee is then devolved to the Panchayats.

·         What if, government offices and any other willing public and private institutions are authorised to let their available spaces be utilised for parking (especially overnight) on payment basis. This may not only help ease parking woes but also, to some extent, ease the financial burden, especially on the Office Maintenance head of expenditure.

·         What if, from ‘an appointed date’, provision of customer parking facility be made a mandatory precondition for all commercial shops to be issued trade licence. 

·         What if, rampant encroachment on roadside be removed with the same spirit and objectivity as was in recent times demonstrated in the case of anti-encroachment drive at Dimapur Airport.

After bringing into place, all the above arrangements, what if, from an appointed date, all roadside parking be made illegal. On a positive note, addressing this pressing issue will require engaging deliberations and debates by the Honourable Municipal Councillors; the outcome of which could be the decisive test on the level of accountability with which they are beholden to the people who have elected them to the institution that will appropriately legislate on the issue at hand.

M. Kayina

Lerie Colony, Kohima.