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Meghalaya Launches Multi-Level Car Park in Shillong to Tackle Traffic Woes

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma inaugurated the state's first Automated Multilevel Car Park in Shillong as part of a long-term strategy to tackle severe traffic congestion. The government has identified nine additional locations for similar facilities, aiming to create parking for about 1,300 vehicles. A new parking policy encourages private landowners to partner with the government to develop parking spaces and collect revenue. Other decongestion measures include road expansions, relocating hawkers, and shifting administrative offices to a new city.

Key Points: Shillong Traffic Decongestion: Multi-Pronged Strategy & New Car Park

  • First automated multilevel car park inaugurated
  • Nine more locations identified for parking
  • New policy for private land partnerships
  • Parallel initiatives like road expansion & hawker relocation
2 min read

Meghalaya govt adopts multi-pronged strategy to decongest Shillong

Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma inaugurates automated multilevel car park, outlines 9 more locations & a new parking policy to decongest Shillong.

"A multi-pronged strategy was therefore developed to slowly and steadily decongest the city - Conrad K. Sangma"

Shillong, Feb 6

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma on Friday said traffic congestion remains one of the biggest challenges facing Shillong and stressed that the government has adopted a long-term, multi-pronged strategy to decongest the city, beginning with the creation of modern parking infrastructure.

Inaugurating the state's first Automated Multilevel Car Park at Vivekananda Road near the Additional Secretariat here, Sangma said that unplanned parking and lack of adequate parking spaces have significantly contributed to traffic snarls in the state capital.

"Among the many challenges Shillong faces, traffic congestion is one of the most pressing. A multi-pronged strategy was therefore developed to slowly and steadily decongest the city, and the multilevel car park we are inaugurating today is just one part of the solution," the Chief Minister said.

He informed that the government has already identified nine more locations for multilevel car parks, which together will create parking space for around 1,300 vehicles in different parts of the city.

Emphasising the need for organised parking, Sangma said random parking on roadsides severely disrupts traffic flow and inconvenience commuters.

To address this, he highlighted the state's new parking policy under which private landowners can partner with the government to develop parking facilities, with the landowners allowed to collect revenue from the parking spaces.

"People must be provided designated parking areas so that indiscriminate parking can be avoided," he said.

The Chief Minister further outlined several parallel initiatives aimed at easing traffic congestion, including the creation of dedicated parking spaces for public transport buses and taxis at Khyndailad, relocation of hawkers from busy roads, expansion of the Umshyrpi-Seventh Mile road, and proposals for an elevated or four-lane road from Rhino Museum Point to Civil Hospital and Barik.

He also reiterated that the gradual shifting of major administrative offices to the New Administrative City would significantly reduce daily traffic pressure in Shillong.

"All these proposals are at an advanced stage and are being implemented to ensure smoother traffic movement, not just as an immediate measure but with a vision for the next few decades," Sangma said.

- IANS

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Reader Comments

P
Priya S
As someone who visits Shillong often, this is much-needed news. The beauty of the city gets lost in the chaos of traffic jams. The plan to involve private landowners for parking is a smart, public-private partnership model. Hope other hill stations in India take note!
R
Rohit P
Good initiative, but I'm a bit skeptical. We've heard about "multi-pronged strategies" before. The key is sustained implementation and public discipline. Will people actually use these paid parking lots or still park on the roadside to save a few rupees?
M
Meera T
Shifting administrative offices out of the main city is the most crucial long-term step. That alone will take hundreds of vehicles off the road daily. The government leading by example is important. Wishing the best for Shillong – it's such a gem of the Northeast.
D
David E
Visiting Shillong last year, the traffic congestion was surprising for a hill station. This seems like a comprehensive plan. The focus on creating parking *before* penalizing illegal parking is the right approach. Hope it brings back the peaceful charm of the city.
K
Karthik V
While the infrastructure push is welcome, there should be equal emphasis on improving public transport. More frequent and reliable buses will encourage people to leave their cars at home. Decongestion isn't just about parking, it's about reducing the number of vehicles on the road.

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