City parking woes continue
Parking in Windhoek's CBD will remain problematic with a 20-year-old parking plan and several other complications the City faces.
Land that was originally set aside for parking by the City of Windhoek in 1997 has been sold for development, while some government buildings are also not making provision for public parking in their building plans.
Windhoek, for years now, has a dire shortage of parking in the CBD and this has only worsened with an increase in traffic and new developments where public parking bays used to be.
According to City of Windhoek spokesperson, Lydia Amutenya, a major concern for the City is the fact that government buildings are not submitting building plans to the City for approval.
She said in most instances, no public parking is catered for at these buildings.
The new Ministry of Finance building is just but one example, according to Amutenya.
“This is putting great pressure on the parking availability within the CBD and undermines any long-term planning initiated by the City of Windhoek,” Amutenya added.
About 20 years ago, the City already anticipated that there will be a shortage of 3 000 parking spaces when a parking plan was developed in 1997 for the CBD.
This plan estimated that there will be a deficit of about 3 000 parking bays by 2003 and onwards.
According to Amutenya, while this plan is very outdated, it remained subject to numerous factors, such as actual development within the CBD, inclusive of public transport provisions which were not incorporated at that time, and actual parking that was developed as per the plan.
Amutenya also said some parking was developed as per the parking plan.
This included the City Parkade next to Cymot.
However, she says, a significant amount of land that was recommended for parking purposes within the CBD was unfortunately sold.
This includes the area next to the NDF Bastion and the open plain that now accommodates the FNB building.
“The remaining two erven that were earmarked to improve parking at the corner of Bahnhof Street and Independence Avenue and the corner of Werner List and John Meinert streets are planned to go out on tender soon,” said Amutenya.
She explained that public parking provision is incorporated to form part of these tenders, providing some parking alleviation.
“However, as is the problem with the FNB building it remains a challenge to reserve some for the general public, as initially planned.”
The former OK parking lot next to the Hilton Hotel was sold to create the FNB headquarters and upon completion, a super parking bay of more than 2 000 parking bays was planned.
The sales conditions require that 250 parking bays be provided over and above the normal parking requirement to serve as additional public parking for the CBD.
'Misunderstanding'
“Unfortunately FNB appears not to be adhering to these public parking requirements as they are more concerned about their security and interpreted public parking as parking for their customers only. Currently, the upper basement is still under construction which makes it more difficult to enforce such requirements,” Amutenya recently said.
FNB's position on parking was shared following complaints from members of the public regarding security prohibiting people to park at the FNB lot.
Asked whether this issue has been addressed with the relevant stakeholders, Amutenya told Namibian Sun this week that senior management of FNB/RMB confirmed that there is a need to provide public parking in their facility and undertook to engage the security guards to rectify the current access system.
According to Amutenya, provision was also made during the planning of the City Parkade to extend the building with a further four split levels.
However, she said the City currently does not have the funds, but is looking into possibilities of partnerships with private institutions.
“Vacant land in the CBD remains a scarce commodity and is in high demand. The City is trying to find a compromise to avail land for development, equally trying to solve parking concerns, instead of trying to retain land and eventually not having the necessary resources to develop such parkades, similar to the one next to Cymot, and the land would be lying idle,” Amutenya explained.
Master plan
According to her, the City is planning to review the parking plan for the CBD, especially incorporating the public transport provision as per the Sustainable Urban Public Transport Master Plan for the City of Windhoek.
She said this project is anticipated to be budgeted for in the next financial year.
“Normally such study will be finalised within the respective financial year,” said Amutenya.
According to the Sustainable Urban Transport Master Plan, Windhoek's population is rapidly growing at 4.3 % per annum, above the national growth rate of 2.6%.
As a result, more housing, more jobs, new infrastructure and services will be required to meet such demand in the future.
Roads Authority statistics from 2006 indicate that Windhoek was home to just over 104 000 motorised vehicles, which grew to 145 000 in 2013.
The latest figures indicate 162 290 registered vehicles in Windhoek, representing 50% of the total number of vehicles in the country.
The number of licensed drivers in Windhoek is 109 249, well below the number of vehicles.
ELLANIE SMIT
Windhoek, for years now, has a dire shortage of parking in the CBD and this has only worsened with an increase in traffic and new developments where public parking bays used to be.
According to City of Windhoek spokesperson, Lydia Amutenya, a major concern for the City is the fact that government buildings are not submitting building plans to the City for approval.
She said in most instances, no public parking is catered for at these buildings.
The new Ministry of Finance building is just but one example, according to Amutenya.
“This is putting great pressure on the parking availability within the CBD and undermines any long-term planning initiated by the City of Windhoek,” Amutenya added.
About 20 years ago, the City already anticipated that there will be a shortage of 3 000 parking spaces when a parking plan was developed in 1997 for the CBD.
This plan estimated that there will be a deficit of about 3 000 parking bays by 2003 and onwards.
According to Amutenya, while this plan is very outdated, it remained subject to numerous factors, such as actual development within the CBD, inclusive of public transport provisions which were not incorporated at that time, and actual parking that was developed as per the plan.
Amutenya also said some parking was developed as per the parking plan.
This included the City Parkade next to Cymot.
However, she says, a significant amount of land that was recommended for parking purposes within the CBD was unfortunately sold.
This includes the area next to the NDF Bastion and the open plain that now accommodates the FNB building.
“The remaining two erven that were earmarked to improve parking at the corner of Bahnhof Street and Independence Avenue and the corner of Werner List and John Meinert streets are planned to go out on tender soon,” said Amutenya.
She explained that public parking provision is incorporated to form part of these tenders, providing some parking alleviation.
“However, as is the problem with the FNB building it remains a challenge to reserve some for the general public, as initially planned.”
The former OK parking lot next to the Hilton Hotel was sold to create the FNB headquarters and upon completion, a super parking bay of more than 2 000 parking bays was planned.
The sales conditions require that 250 parking bays be provided over and above the normal parking requirement to serve as additional public parking for the CBD.
'Misunderstanding'
“Unfortunately FNB appears not to be adhering to these public parking requirements as they are more concerned about their security and interpreted public parking as parking for their customers only. Currently, the upper basement is still under construction which makes it more difficult to enforce such requirements,” Amutenya recently said.
FNB's position on parking was shared following complaints from members of the public regarding security prohibiting people to park at the FNB lot.
Asked whether this issue has been addressed with the relevant stakeholders, Amutenya told Namibian Sun this week that senior management of FNB/RMB confirmed that there is a need to provide public parking in their facility and undertook to engage the security guards to rectify the current access system.
According to Amutenya, provision was also made during the planning of the City Parkade to extend the building with a further four split levels.
However, she said the City currently does not have the funds, but is looking into possibilities of partnerships with private institutions.
“Vacant land in the CBD remains a scarce commodity and is in high demand. The City is trying to find a compromise to avail land for development, equally trying to solve parking concerns, instead of trying to retain land and eventually not having the necessary resources to develop such parkades, similar to the one next to Cymot, and the land would be lying idle,” Amutenya explained.
Master plan
According to her, the City is planning to review the parking plan for the CBD, especially incorporating the public transport provision as per the Sustainable Urban Public Transport Master Plan for the City of Windhoek.
She said this project is anticipated to be budgeted for in the next financial year.
“Normally such study will be finalised within the respective financial year,” said Amutenya.
According to the Sustainable Urban Transport Master Plan, Windhoek's population is rapidly growing at 4.3 % per annum, above the national growth rate of 2.6%.
As a result, more housing, more jobs, new infrastructure and services will be required to meet such demand in the future.
Roads Authority statistics from 2006 indicate that Windhoek was home to just over 104 000 motorised vehicles, which grew to 145 000 in 2013.
The latest figures indicate 162 290 registered vehicles in Windhoek, representing 50% of the total number of vehicles in the country.
The number of licensed drivers in Windhoek is 109 249, well below the number of vehicles.
ELLANIE SMIT
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