Conversion of Raja Bazaar into pedestrian street worsens parking crisis
People walk on the pedestrian street in Rawalpindi’s Raja Bazaar on Sunday. — Online RAWALPINDI: After converting Raja Bazaar from Fawara Chowk to Hamilton Road into a pedestrian street, parking has become a major problem in the main commercial hub of the region, while the Punjab government has yet to give the go-ahead signal to Rawalpindi Municipal Corporation (RMC) to construct a parking plaza.…
Rawalpindi's Raja Bazaar, once a bustling commercial hub, has transformed into a pedestrian street, leaving parking in short supply. The Punjab government has not approved the construction of a new parking plaza, despite a study indicating a need for 1200 vehicles’ worth of parking. The existing parking plaza, run by the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA), can only accommodate 1000 vehicles, far short of the demand.
The RDA planned to add three more floors to the plaza in 2022, but the project never materialized. The Rawalpindi Municipal Corporation (RMC) is now exploring options, including a multi-storey parking plaza on its old office land, estimated to cost Rs3 billion. Despite the challenges, visitors and shopkeepers alike have expressed frustration over the lack of adequate parking, making it difficult to navigate the bazaar, especially on motorcycles.
Written by urgent.news from Dawn - Pakistan's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
