October 25, 2011

FEASIBILITY OF

PARKING PLAZA IN CBD

OF KARACHI

ARIF SAMOON UE-06

AHSAN ALI AHMAD UE-29

2 | P a g e

INTRODUCTION

The city of Karachi is tangled into a number of problems. There are numerous shortcomings

regarding the sewage systems, electricity supply, water supply, parking etc. This project focuses

itself on parking problems being faced in Sadar. This area can very precisely be defined as the most

significant area in Karachi that covers all the influential commercial areas and holds key business

offices.

The existing parking situation is extremely poor. Sadar is facing numerous parking problems all at

once. There are issues with safety, security1, space, accessibility issues.

The average vehicle owner has to overcome numerous problems, first he has to ensure that his

vehicle has to be parked in a no-tow-away zone, then, the security, and safety issue. There are very

little, or no law enforcement agencies working in the area.

Finally, when a parking is found, it is realized that it is way too far from the point of interest.

To overcome this issue, the CDGK developed a parking plaza in 2009. Unfortunately, the PKR 450

million project has had little or no use with the general public. The plaza, in its current state, is not a

feasible parking option.

There are two major problems with the Parking Plaza. Firstly, it is located at great distance from the

main Saddar area. Hence, parking at the facility, and then walking to the point of interest is not a

feasible option.

Secondly, the Parking Plaza exists in an infrastructure vacuum. There are no complimentary facilities

around the parking plaza. There should have been planned, an environmentally friendly par transit

or tram system with the CBD, such that the person parking his vehicle in the parking plaza is at a

vantage, feeling free of his vehicle, and driving in the comfort of the complimentary transport.

1 Safety and security are often incorrectly considered as synonym. Safety is the prevention of accidental injury

or damage to persons or property. Security, on the other hand, is protection of occupants and premises from criminal activity.

3 | P a g e

Figure 1 Map of Sadar Town (CDGK website)

4 | P a g e

1.1 SCOPE OF WORK

This project looks into parking problems being faced at Sadar. Feasibility studies conducted in this

respect encompasses the issue as to whether or not a parking structure is required to deal with

situation.

1.2 PARKING PLAZA AT SADAR:

Pakistan’s first parking plaza, constructed in Saddar, inaugurated on July 12 2009 and the services of

an international firm having vast experience in this field have been acquired for its management.

The parking fee for vehicles and motorcycles has also been determined at Rs.20 and Rs.10

respectively for three hours. It serves 700 vehicles and 500 motorcycles at one time

Objective of parking plaza is not to earn revenue for the city government but to facilitate people

and provide parking facilities for vehicles parked on roads. Karachi Is expanding with every passing

day and with the growth in population, the number of vehicles was also increasing, if proper parking

measures were not taken today, the problems on roads would grow and transport would face

difficulties.

5 | P a g e

Saddar is the heart of the city and people come here from all parts of the city. Hence, parking

problems on roads here would have to be solved to make the economic hub of city, a more

transport efficient area. For the purpose this parking plaza had been constructed. It was also hoped

that it will help in giving the area a clean, and more aesthetic look.

It was decided that for first three hours, the parking fee will be Rs.20 and subsequently Rs.5 for

every additional hour while for motorcycles there will be only one time fee of Rs.10.

It was also decided to issue stickers to shopkeepers for parking on a monthly basis, with a fee of

Rs.1000. For shopkeepers parking space will be reserved in the basement. The upper stories are

reserved for office owners.

In the parking plaza all those facilities have been provided as are available in the world’s developed

cities which include surveillance cameras, complete computerised system, space for washing and

servicing of vehicles, shuttle service from parking plaza to Saddar’s other areas, construction of

roads around the plaza and connecting roads of Saddar with the plaza.

6 | P a g e

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Parking Planning

Parking structures are typically contemplated when there is perceived need for more parking than

can be accommodated in surface lots serving a building activity.

Parking is an enormous of land and resources. Office buildings in suburban settings typically require

1 sq. ft. of the parking for every sq. ft. of leasable sq .ft. parking structures are expensive to own and

operate costing up to five times as much as surface parking. Revenue from parking when there is any

only rarely pays for the cost of structured parking.

Conversely, surface parking is usually not the highest and best use of a parcel of land. Parking

structures allow denser development or expansion of and existing land use that otherwise would not

be possible. Planning Parking to carefully consider how much parking is really needed, what is the

most effective way to develop it and how to finance and pay for it.

2.2 How much space is needed

Parking generation is defined as the peak accumulation of parked vehicles generated by the land

uses present under any given set of conditions.

Parking demand is the number of spaces that should be provided for a building or group of buildings

that typically includes a small cushion of extra spaces over and above the expected peak

accumulation of vehicles on a design day.

UNITS

Parking requirement are generally stated as a ratio of x spaces per y units of land use. Most ratios

employ the sq. ft. of building area.

Most standard-setting groups today have adopted the spaces/1000 sq. ft.

Today, virtually all employ “gross floor area” which is outside to outside of exterior walls. For

purposes of calculation of parking requirements, the vehicular parking and loading areas and the

floor area occupied by the electrical mechanical communications and security equipments are

deducted from the floor area before application of ratios.

DESIGN DAY AND HOURS

An important concept in parking analysis is the selection of an appropriate design day and hour. It is

not feasible to design the parking system for the peak accumulation of vehicles that might

conceivably ever occur and have a substantial number of spaces sit vacant for remaining hours of

operation per year. At the same time it is not appropriate to design to an average condition and

have insufficient supply for half of the hours in a years. Shared parkings’emply the 90th percentile

ratio of peak hour occupancies observed.

7 | P a g e

EFFECTIVE SUPPLY

Another important concept in determining the required number of spaces is that of the effective

supply as it is known in the parking industry. A parking system operates at optimum efficiency at

somewhat less than its actual capacity. It is unrealistic to expect an arriving parker to find the last

available parking space in a system without significant frustration and the resulting perception that

parking is inadequate. Therefore it is important to have a cushion of extra space in the supply to

account for operating fluctuations, vehicle maneuvers, imparked vehicles and minor construction

etc. Because perception is reality parking demand must include this effective supply cushion. Thus :

Parking demand = parking generated + effective supply cushion.

8 | P a g e

Standard parking

generation ratios

(spaces/1000 GLA of

each use)

Adjust for local

conditions, captive

ratios & mode split =

site-specific ratios

Site specific ratios

X sq.ft. of each use

= design parking

demand for each

use.

Adjust for

month, day of

week & time of

day

Separate into visitor and

employee components

Calculate

accumulation of

parked cars on typical

days in month

Determine design

days/times/months for

employees and visitors

Compare to parking

availability on site and in

area.

Parking plan

Chart: Parking analysis methodology

9 | P a g e

METHODOLOGY

3.1 Preliminary survey

A survey has been done initially in which the main congested areas of Sadar starting from the CDGK

parking to several different places has been analyzed for the illegal parking, a traffic count has been

done and following pictures have been taken.

Figure 2 This is the place where carts are illegally parked and causing the congestion in the area. This picture has been taken in front of Empress Market.

10 | P a g e

Figure 3 This picture show the illegal parking of rickshaws and double parallel parking of the cars causing the congestion.

Figure 4 This pictures shows the irresponsible parking of the drivers at the intersection.

11 | P a g e

It has been analyzed that main congestion is due to the insufficient parking place in the CBD of

Karachi. Buildings have their own reserved parking but don’t have enough space for the visitors.

Along with that the signals and law enforcement agencies are non-existent.

12 | P a g e

RESULTS

4.1 Proposed Parking area

As a recommendation for fulfilling the need of parking place in CBD of Karachi, a place near Zainab

Market and Tower has been chosen. Here, a parking plaza can be constructed so that people may

park their cars and have less distance to approach their destinations. To cope up with the walking

distance a shuttle service may be provided in the area of Sadar. The cars should be parked in the

available parking plazas.

Figure 5 Relative picture showing the recommended parking plaza near Zainab Market (shaded region) and CDGK Parking Plaza.

The shaded rectangular area comes out as 6760 m2, and the quarter circular area comes out as

1634.407 m2 (see figure below). The suggested area will cater to a surface parking of 300 vehicles,

assuming that one vehicle takes up a space of 6m length, and 2 m width.

In this way, if a parking structure consisting of three floors is constructed, a parking facility for 900

vehicles will be available for the general public at a nominal parking fee.

13 | P a g e

58.81 m

113.27 m

57

.58

m

67

.78

m

Figure: Plan of proposed parking plaza near Zainab Market.

Figure 6 Place near Zainab Market for proposed parking plaza.

14 | P a g e

Figure 7 Place near Zainab Market for proposed parking plaza.

Parking plazas should be constructed according to the standards as mentioned in the Parking Plan

chapter of the report, such that the structure is sustainable.

15 | P a g e

REFERENCES

Map of Saddar town,

http://14.192.147.139/cdgk/Home/Towns/GulshanTown/tabid/211/townid/6/default.aspx

Introduction to Parking concepts

Parking structures: planning, design, construction, maintenance, and repair (Anthony P.

Chrest)