Chennai: To free up road space for parking and generate revenue, the Chennai Corporation has come up with a plan where shopkeepers will be permitted to reserve space in its parking lots here and pay the fee for their customers.
A new app-based system will also be introduced in the next few weeks where riders and drivers can pay parking tickets and find vacant spots closest to their destination.
The new projects are part of the Smart City project and will be implemented as a pilot project in Shanti Colony, Anna Nagar and Shenoy Nagar over the next three weeks.
An official from Chennai Corporation said, We have identified 700 parking slots in Anna Nagar. The areas include Anna Nagar 4th Avenue (Shanthi Colony), 2nd Avenue, 3r Avenue and 18th Main Road. The vendor will be permitted to collect premium parking charges in locations having high demand for parking space.
To make life easier for commuters, sensors to monitor parking spaces, collect parking fees and penalties using mobile applications would be set up on lampposts near the parking lots. A software application synced to the sensors will point out vacant slots using Google Maps.
The system can also detect vehicles in no-parking zones. This information will be sent to the enforcement manager to initiate the process of fine collection / towing of vehicle.
Once the vehicle is parked, the user can pay parking tickets using online wallets. E-kiosks will also be set up for people without smartphones so that they can directly pay and receive parking tickets.