Dallas-style parking scheme mulled
The city's traffic authorities are planning to adopt an "imported" parking scheme to solve the city's traffic problems.
As a stop-gap measure, the city will be reverting to the parallel parking system starting this week.
Councilor Erwin Plagata said that the Traffic Technical Working Group is studying a "two-hour parking scheme," similar to the one used in Dallas, Texas.
"That is on the drawing board already," he said.
He said that a visiting Filipino based in America suggested the idea to him.
This is just one of the many ideas proposed to us, Plagata said.
Under the scheme, vehicles are allowed to park in the same place for up to two hours only.
"This is to give others the chance to park," Plagata explained.
In the US, he said, a traffic inspector writes the date and time of parking. The inspector regularly goes around checking on vehicles which have been parking in the same spot for more than two hours.
Violations are penalized with a fine, he said.
There is a good chance that the scheme will work, Plagata said.
He observed that there are vehicles which have virtually turned the road shoulders into their personal parking areas, staying there the whole day.
"We all have the right to avail of these parking spaces, but are often deprived," he said.
Plagata said that a legislation is still needed.
The TTWG, he said, is studying the scheme, after which it will come out with its recommendation for the City Council and the Office of the Mayor.
The parallel parking scheme has been observed in the previous years, but was not observed lately.
"Observing the parallel parking system means more space on the roads," Plagata said.