mr funny
10-05-10, 19:32
http://www.straitstimes.com/Think/Story/STIStory_524408.html
May 9, 2010
YOUR LETTERS
Regulate parking in condos and private estates
The article, 'The condo carpark crunch' (April18), highlighted a dispute between a family who own four cars and their condominium management over new rules limiting the number of cars residents can park on-site.
Such parking problems seem to have come about because in recent years, car prices have become more affordable, so more families now own multiple vehicles. At the same time, developers have been allowed to build condos with fewer carpark spaces than before, especially those closer to MRT stations.
In many online forums, people have suggested that those with four cars should either buy more units or live in a landed property. However, I would like to highlight parking woes of private property owners as well.
In my private estate, most properties have car porches that can accommodate one car. However, many families now own two or more cars. Some of these owners would park their cars outside their houses or in front of their neighbours' units, sometimes blocking the entrances.
Also, some families do not use their porches for their cars but for storage - for their bicycles or dog cages. These families would park their cars in public space, thus making the two-lane road barely passable for traffic.
Once, a frustrated resident even called in the Traffic Police to deal with the situation, but the traffic warden just advised the errant car owners to move their cars and, within the hour, the cars were back where they had been.
Such obstruction of traffic and inconsiderate behaviour just show that most people cannot be relied on to act in a civic-minded way.
I hope that the Land Transport Authority or Urban Redevelopment Authority will act to regulate the situation in private estates and condominiums, just as the Housing Board regulates the carpark situation in HDB carparks. It is clear that without proper enforcement, the parking problem will not go away.
Leong Chee Liang
May 9, 2010
YOUR LETTERS
Regulate parking in condos and private estates
The article, 'The condo carpark crunch' (April18), highlighted a dispute between a family who own four cars and their condominium management over new rules limiting the number of cars residents can park on-site.
Such parking problems seem to have come about because in recent years, car prices have become more affordable, so more families now own multiple vehicles. At the same time, developers have been allowed to build condos with fewer carpark spaces than before, especially those closer to MRT stations.
In many online forums, people have suggested that those with four cars should either buy more units or live in a landed property. However, I would like to highlight parking woes of private property owners as well.
In my private estate, most properties have car porches that can accommodate one car. However, many families now own two or more cars. Some of these owners would park their cars outside their houses or in front of their neighbours' units, sometimes blocking the entrances.
Also, some families do not use their porches for their cars but for storage - for their bicycles or dog cages. These families would park their cars in public space, thus making the two-lane road barely passable for traffic.
Once, a frustrated resident even called in the Traffic Police to deal with the situation, but the traffic warden just advised the errant car owners to move their cars and, within the hour, the cars were back where they had been.
Such obstruction of traffic and inconsiderate behaviour just show that most people cannot be relied on to act in a civic-minded way.
I hope that the Land Transport Authority or Urban Redevelopment Authority will act to regulate the situation in private estates and condominiums, just as the Housing Board regulates the carpark situation in HDB carparks. It is clear that without proper enforcement, the parking problem will not go away.
Leong Chee Liang