By Correspondent
A residents’ association has proposed that parking time be reduced to try to reduce congestion in Harare’s CBD.
Harare Residents Trust (HRT) says there are only 7 000 parking spaces in the CBD against a vehicle population of around 200 000.
“Parking in the central business district should be limited to a short time, especially during the day, to minimise congestion and the widespread shortage of parking spaces.
“There are only 7 000 parking spaces on the streets of Harare, against an estimated 200 000 vehicles that pass through the central business district every day.
To deal with this situation its says a step-system should be implemented to discourage motorists from parking for too long.
“We propose parking for the first three hours at US$1 per hour and US$1.50 per hour thereafter.
“This makes motorists limit the time they occupy a parking space.
However, HRT recognises the need to create more parking spaces.
“More needs to be done to create more parking spaces in town to cater for the huge number of vehicles.
“The cheaper the parking fees, the more chaos we are likely to experience in Harare’s city centre.
Congestion Conundrum
Harare jams usually start at 6 am up to about 9 am.
In the afternoon, they begin around 2.30 until about 7 and on wet days, they get to even 9 pm or 10 pm.
The situation gets worse when one gets into the city centre or when approaching major intersections.
Professor Innocent Chirisa, who specialises in Urban and Regional Planning, says the challenges have changed recently.
“In the past, it had to do with direction; however, these days, it is neither here nor there.
“Both entering and exiting the city centre are now a big challenge.
“This shows that the problem has become quite defined.
“Everyone feels the heat, and everyone complains about the problem.
He argues that increased use of private vehicles is one of the major problems.
“In transport planning theory, the use of private vehicles brings convenience to the user.
“They can pick up and drop passengers wherever they want and are at no one’s mercy.
“It appears that freedom and convenience are the major plagues to the city’s ability to allow easy mobility.
Dealing with the cited challenges needs a systems thinking approach in which, collectively, these issues must be tackled.
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