The General Manager of Lagos State Parking Authority (LASPA) Mrs Adebisi Adelabu, has said that it would commence full implementation of its policies in the second quarter of 2023 to improve the parking culture.
Adelabu said this at a briefing yesterday where she reeled out the mandate, functions and strategies of the agency.
She said Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu had initiated a well-designed and coordinated parking management system.
She said LASPA was to assist residents to be mindful of parking their vehicles appropriately as this would positively impact the environment and roads.
Adelabu said since LASPA’s establishment in 2021, it has been sensitising Lagosians with various means of communication.
She, however, said there would be punitive measures for offenders.
According to her, the Lagos state government would be creating direct employment with the involvement of concessioners.
Adebule said that over six concessioners had been awarded to create a parking place around Ikeja, Surulere and Apapa among others, adding that there would be a certain place where one could park within slated period of time.
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She said: “The Lagos State Parking Authority is an Agency of Government created by law, under the leadership of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, with the core mandate to regulate and manage all forms of Parking, register existing private, and 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 with the parking problem and that is why LASPA was established. We are working with the local governments to achieve the mandate.”
Adelabu said the agency was not for revenue generation adding that people had been paying for parking since time immemorial in Lagos but nobody knows who they paid to, as it is the norm in Lagos for anyone to collect money.
The LASPA boss said the government believed it was important to put a face to the unauthorised collection of parking fees and change the habit of parking.
She said the state was working towards decongesting gridlock on Lagos road by investing in multimodal transportation, saying that LASPA was created to assist residents in considering factors attached to parking cars.