Bengaluru: As Office-Goers Shun Cars For Namma Metro, BDA Mulls Relaxing Parking Space Rules For Commercial Buildings

Due to the rise of office-goers using metro to travel to work, Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA) might soon introduce changes in the rules with respect to the parking space earmarked for commercial outlets in Bengaluru. About four lakh commuters use metro on a weekday, a huge portion of which comprises of office-goers.

On Saturday, 15 December, a BDA board meeting was held wherein it was decided that due to the decrease in the number of personal vehicles being used to travel to work, the parking space will not required be as much.

The current set of rules mandate that if any establishments are located within a kilometre of the metro line, they must have adequate space for parking a four-wheeler every 50 square meter of the built area.

The New Indian Express quoted a senior official of BDA as saying, “There was a demand from companies and other commercial establishments for quite some time to permit them to reduce the mandatory parking space in their premises since the existing area was not fully utilised by staffers. So, we have now decided to recommend to the government that the rule be modified such that a parking space needs to be provided only for every 75 square meter of built-up area in a commercial establishment.”

Furthermore, another official said, “If one has a plot of 50x80 square foot, then the permitted built-up area there would be 35x60 square foot If three floors are built there, the built-up area would be calculated as 35x60x3 square foot. At this figure, a parking space needs to be provided for every 75 square meter in future.”