The city administration has launched a new parking discipline drive, but not many commuters are pleased.

According to fresh traffic department guidelines, parking spots for two-wheelers, four-wheelers and no-parking zones have been set up in Patna.

To avoid confusion among commuters, the traffic department has put up signboards every 50m so that motorists don't face problems while looking for parking bays.

However, barring a few areas on Fraser Road, SP Verma Road, Exhibition Road, Bailey Road, Boring Road and Ashok Rajpath, most of the spans on these roads have been declared "no-parking zones".

Commuters on these stretches have to park their vehicles in specified areas, failing which their vehicles will be towed away.

The biggest challenge for commuters was shopping because not a single four-wheeler parking spot was demarcated near a shopping mall. According to the new guidelines, there is no parking area near Vishal Mega Mart on Fraser Road, Buddha Smriti Park, Samrat Hotel on Fraser Road. Commuters visiting any of these will now have to park their vehicles at least half a kilometre from the venue.

Middle-aged Sudhakar Prasad was seen having a heated argument with a traffic cop when he found his vehicle parked outside Vishal Mega Mart was towed away by the traffic cops.

"If I have come to Fraser Road for shopping where will I park my vehicle? The earmarked four-wheeler parking spot on the two sides of the road are packed and the nearest four-wheeler parking bay, which is comparatively empty, is near Gandhi Maidan," he said.

Prasad tried hard to convince the cop, but he had to pay a fine before his car that was towed away was finally handed back to him.

Patna traffic police, however, claimed they have set up specified parking and no-parking zones so that commuters have a smooth ride.

Patna senior superintendent of police (traffic) P.K. Das said: "We have demarcated parking areas in Patna and it is expected that people leave their vehicles in the specified zones only. We have placed signboards at every 50m on where to park and where not to. The biggest problem with commuters is that most of the parking spots which we have demarcated is meant for single-line parking, but it has been seen that people often park in double line in the specified areas, which eats up half the road."

Lack of awareness on traffic rules is another reason behind people facing problems in parking. A senior police officer said: "In big cities and metros, people love to park their vehicles half or even a kilometer away from shopping venues. They love to walk while shopping, but in Patna most people want to park their vehicles in front of the shop."

His views assume importance because a year after the multi-level parking space was inaugurated near Patna Junction roundabout, a first-of-its-kind in the state, it lacks patrons. Built at a cost of Rs 13.58 crore on 2.16 acres, it was aimed at solving the parking problem in a busy area. Because of its strategic location, the four-floor parking space has become garages for people who don't have one of their own.

An employee looking after the parking facility said: "People who have no garages to keep their vehicles park here. The monthly charge for parking a vehicle is Rs 1,200 and on an average 100 four-wheelers are parked on the ground floor of the space while the other three are vacant. The reason behind people not turning up to park their vehicles during shopping is because of its location. The entry lane of the multi-level parking lot remains perennially choked."

Mahadeo Sah, who runs a cloth shop near Patna Junction adjacent the multi-level parking, said: "The parking near Patna Junction is a classic example of how public money can be wasted for a brainless facility. Hardly 25 vehicles can be seen parked against the capacity of 480."

Experts claimed a lot of work has to be done to streamline traffic in Patna.

Sanjeev Sinha, a civil engineering professor at NIT with specialisation in traffic and transportation engineering, said: "The biggest way to ease traffic under which there is sufficient space for parking can be achieved by removing encroachment. Second, in parking bays vehicles should be parked at 90-degree angle giving space to more vehicles."