PUNE: The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) is planning to demolish the long defunct multilevel mechanised parking facility on Jangli Maharaj Road (J M Road) near Chhatrapati Sambhaji garden and replace it with a new, higher-capacity parking structure as part of its efforts to address the city’s burgeoning parking crisis.PMC plans to demolish parking facility on JM Road and replace it with higher-capacity parking structure as part of its efforts to address the city’s parking crisis. (HT FILE)The proposal was discussed at the PMC standing committee meeting held on Thursday. Civic officials said that the existing parking facility, which has remained largely non-functional for several years, has failed to serve its intended purpose despite being located in one of the city’s busiest commercial corridors.Standing committee chairman Shrinath Bhimale said that the civic administration is exploring redevelopment of the site with a modern parking facility equipped with improved technology and greater capacity.“The existing parking structure on J M Road is not being used due to various operational and technical issues. With the number of vehicles in Pune increasing every year, the PMC is looking at creating parking facilities in different parts of the city. One of the proposals under consideration is to demolish the existing structure and construct a new parking facility with enhanced capacity at the same location,” Bhimale said. The civic body is also considering developing similar parking facilities in Mandai and Narayan Peth to cater to congestion in the city’s core areas; he added.According to officials, the proposed projects are likely to be implemented on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis, allowing private operators to develop and manage the facilities without placing a major financial burden on the civic body.“The municipal administration is expected to submit a proposal for developing these parking facilities on a BOT basis shortly. Once the proposal is received, the standing committee will take an appropriate decision. Given the growing parking problem in Pune, the city will have to rely more on technology-driven solutions for parking management,” Bhimale said.The multilevel mechanised parking facility on J M Road was among the PMC’s early attempts to address parking shortages in the city. However, the project ran into operational difficulties soon after its inauguration and remained functional only for a brief period. Users frequently complained about technical glitches, long waiting times and the inability of larger vehicles including SUVs to use the facility. The structure has since remained largely unused, even as demand for parking in the J M Road-Deccan area has continued to rise owing to commercial activity, educational institutions and recreational destinations. Civic officials believe a redesigned facility with better technology and higher capacity could help ease parking pressure in the area while making more efficient use of the prime civic land parcel.