On-street parking refers to when vehicles are parked on the roadsides and near sidewalks. Good on-street parking management can end parking chaos. It will contribute to the smooth commute of residents, buses, pedestrians and vehicle drivers and also enhance local businesses. It will ensure optimal and fair use of street space. But, parking on the roadsides in our cities is being given away for free while most of the roads remain congested. If this same piece of land was somewhere else it could have been rented out for commercial or residential purposes. All this money is nothing but revenue lost to the government.
Instead of widening roads, charging for parking could be a more easier and effective solution to the clearing the congested roads. Also, the people who own cars are not those who are economically poor but those who earn substantially well.
The failure of various paid parking schemes and multi-level parking projects in various institutions is majorly because when people can park for free on the roads, why would they take the trouble to drive into a parking space and pay for it. By charging for parking, not only will the government become more financially stable, but our roads will also become less congested.
