The Lagos State Parking Authority (LASPA) has shifted the enforcement of parking regulations in the state to the second quarter of 2023.
This is just as the authority debunked the insinuation that the authority was set up solely for the purpose of revenue generation.
The General Manager of the authority, Mrs. Adebisi Adelabu, who spoke with newsmen in Lagos yesterday explained that the parking authority’s mandate was to entrench a parking culture in the state.She said the Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu had signed a law to create a well-designed and coordinated parking management system for the Lagos of the future in view of the growing population of the state.
The policy was designed to decongest traffic, address climate change challenges and create job opportunities.“So when we start next year, nobody would say they have not heard about us. We have met different associations, religious, residential, event owners, to let them know what we are about and what is coming,” she said.Adelabu stated that Lagos residents have nine months to understand the do’s and don’ts of the new parking law.She said that LASPA was to assist Lagos residents to be mindful of parking their vehicles appropriately as this would impact positively on the environment and Lagos roads.
In addition, she said it would help to put a stop to unauthorised collection of parking fees across the state and forestall a situation where people pay faceless people for parking in the state.The General Manager added: “The Lagos State Parking Authority is an Agency of Government created by law, under the leadership of Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, with the core mandate to regulate and manage all forms of Parking, register existing private, public parks and holistically tackle the menace of parking.
“There was a need for our establishment to regulate parking because we have Vehicle Inspection Authority (VIS), the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) but parking is essential to tackle traffic congestion.“If one really wants to address traffic challenges, we need to start from the parking problem and that is why LASPA was established. We are working with the Local Government to achieve their mandate in terms of parking.”She said that the agency was not a revenue generating agency, adding that people had been paying for parking since time immemorial in Lagos while nobody knows who they paid to, as it is the norm in Lagos for anyone to collect money.
