metro

Parking oversight creates hazards

Vehicles far outnumber downtown parking spaces, causing drivers to park helter skelter.

Maydée Romero/LA PRENSA

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In a section of Costa del Este known as one of the better planned areas of the city, where the neighborhood is neatly divided into residential, commercial and industrial zones, one thing remains out of place: cars parked at odd angles blocking the streets.

Ismael Liber, who works in a corporate office building there, explained that while the company provides parking, he and his coworkers prefer to park on the street for a quicker getaway after work.

An employee for another company in the complex told a different story. She indicated that there is only enough parking spaces for administrators and clients, leaving employees to pray that a spot opens up on an adjacent street.

The scenario plays out all over the city, particularly near clusters of office towers, such as those in the banking district and the Calidonia market center off of Via España.

In these areas, cars are parked with impunity on sidewalks and center dividers, irrespective of street markings and fire hydrants. Pedestrians are often forced to dodge traffic simply to get from one doorway to another on the same side of the street.

According to Rosa Moreira, deputy director of Ingeniería del Municipio de Panamá, in the city schematic, each section is zoned for a specific use. In the case of residential or office buildings, the general rule requires a parking lot every 60 meters.

Iván Carlucci, president of Asociación Panameña de Corredores y Promotores de Bienes Raíces, admitted that the rule has fallen short of the reality of the capital’s rapidly growing shortage of parking spaces. The problem will continue, he said, as long as commercial and residential towers multiply downtown. For Carlucci, a modernized public transit system would provide a permanent solution to the city’s parking worries, since it would reduce the number of cars on the streets.

Municipio de Panamá officials counted 410 parking meters in the city, a number ridiculously disproportionate to the more than 300,000 vehicles circulating through city streets every day. City treasurer Mario Miranda said that at least another 4,000 metered spaces were needed, but that the Municipio hasn’t been able to find a company to install them.