As part of measures to improve parking culture, the Lagos State Parking Authority (LASPA) is to commence full implementation of it policies in second quarter (Q2) of 2023.
Speaking during an interactive session with Journalists on Thursday, General Manager, Mrs Adebisi Adelabu, urged Lagos residents to park their vehicles appropriately as this would impact positively on the environment and Lagos roads.
“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 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 want to address traffic challenges, we need to start from parking problem and that is why LASPA was established.
“We are working with the Local Government to achieve their mandate in terms of parking ,”Adelabu said.
She said that the agency was not a revenue generating agency, adding that people had been paying for parking since time in memorial in Lagos while no body knows who they paid to, as it is in the norm in Lagos for anyone to collect money.
The LASPA boss said that Government believed it was important to put a fate to unauthorised collection of parking fees adding there was need to change the habit of parking cars around in Lagos.
She said that LASG was working towards decongesting gridlock on Lagos road by investing on multimodal transportation saying that LASPA was created to assist Lagos resident to consider factors attached to parking cars.
Adelabu said LASPA was established in 2021 and had been taking time to sensitise Lagos residents with various means of communications till the second quoter of 2023 before they begun operations.
She said that their would be punity for any offenders when they commence operations, the Lagos State Government would be creating employment directly with the operation and involvement of concessioner.
Adebule said that over six concessioner had been awarded to create a parking place around Ikeja, Surulere, Apapa etc, adding that there would be a certain place where one could park within slated period of time.