Karachi bans double parking to ease traffic congestion

KARACHI: The saturation of vehicles in Karachi has necessitated a fresh initiative from the city’s administration in the form of a ban on double parking on major highways.

This resolution was taken during a meeting chaired by Commissioner Karachi, Hassan Naqvi, who was insistent on the need for improved traffic controls, as well as implementing charges on parking.

Presently, there are 201 paid parking zones in Karachi which comprise about 130 larger than those on the main streets, according to DIG Traffic Karachi Ahmed Nawaz.

However, the illegal and double-parking areas usually found in the South District have been aggravating the problem of traffic in the region. Such illegal parking areas are affecting the smooth movement of vehicles and hence measures to control the situation have been reached by the concerned bodies.

To tackle this problem the concerned authorities will make sure that parking contractors obey the rules or they will have their permits revoked if they are found to infringe them.

The district administration and the traffic police will implement these rules as a team. This meeting also included the proposition for shutting down the ticket-selling area for inter-city buses operating within the city of Karachi, which has also caused immobility.

The Transport Secretary was asked to make sure that no tickets will be issued from these counters as a strategy to ease the traffic congestion.

This is a continuation of the measures that are meant to help curb the challenge that has been posed by Managing the Traffic in Karachi as well as Promoting Free Movement in the City.

The authorities believe that overwhelming restrictions of these new provisions will control the traffic gridlocks and enhance the safety of the roads in the city. In addition, DIG Traffic has also proposed that schools in Karachi should be closed from November