On-street parking in Makati

Unlike many other motorists who drive to Makati City often, I wasn’t aware of how tightly controlled on-street parking is in the Makati Central Business District (MCBD) until I had to park on-street during office hours recently. I usually park off-street, whether in the parking basements of shopping malls, hotels and office towers, or in car park buildings or fenced and gated open-air parking lots.

But when the open-air parking lot beside the Makati Medical Center (MMC) was suddenly closed without any public announcement or warning whatsoever after Typhoon “Glenda,” I had to resort to curbside parking.

There was a “Full” sign posted at the entrance of MMC’s parking basement and a long line of chauffeured cars waiting. It was 10:30 a.m. on a weekday and the clinic hours of the doctor I planned to consult ended at noon, so I drove to Amorsolo Drive which was the nearest street with curbside parking allowed on both sides of the street starting at 10 a.m. and ending 5 p.m., as indicated by road signs.

By 10:30 a.m., the parking slots were full so I had to circle around again and again (right on De la Rosa, right on Adelantado, right on V. A. Rufino and finally right on Amorsolo) until I found an empty slot.

PARKING FEE. Shortly after I had parked my car, a parking warden came along and informed me that the parking fee was P40 for two hours, P90 for the maximum three hours. When I forked over P40, he warned me that if I exceeded two hours and failed to come back to remove my car or pay P50 more for the third and final hour, my car would be clamped or towed away.

Nonpayment of the parking fee and/or exceeding the on-street parking time limit subjects a vehicle to clamping or towing away and impoundment. The release fees are P1,000 for clamping and P1,500 for towing and storage.

Incidentally, Makati has an ordinance exempting from the three-hour limit all senior citizens and PWDs (persons with disabilities) who live in Makati. They only have to show the parking warden their Makati senior citizenship or PWD certification, which can be obtained from the Makati Parking Authority (Mapa) office at Amorsolo corner Urban

Avenue.

On another weekday with MMC as my destination for another checkup (maybe I’m a hypochondriac?), it was 3:30 p.m. by the time I reached Amorsolo Drive. Again, the MMC parking basement’s entrance was closed because it was full and again, I looked for an empty parking slot along Amorsolo. I found one at 3:38 p.m. on the right side of the road.

This time, the parking warden told me that I had to remove my car by 5 p.m. because that was the hour when parking on the right side of Amorsolo was no longer allowed. However, he said I could move my car to the left side of the road, where parking was allowed until 7 p.m. without having to pay P40 if you park there after 5 p.m.

COURTEOUS. In both instances, the parking wardens were courteous, businesslike, helpful and neatly clad in the dark blue uniform of the Mapa. The field personnel of Mapa should not be confused with the yellow-shirted traffic enforcers who belong to Mapsa (Makati Public Safety Department).

My on-street parking experience prompted me to Google Mapa. Before Mapa was created in 1987 by the Makati City Government under then Makati Officer-in-Charge Jejomar Binay together with Ayala Land Inc., the Makati Commercial Estate Association (Macea) and the Makati Chamber of Commerce and Industry as a nonstock, nonprofit and self-sustaining private corporation, curbside parking in the MCBD was disorderly.

Motorists parked wherever they pleased, as close as possible to the places where they wanted to transact business. This continuous, long-term or all-day parking near intersections, fire hydrants, on sidewalks, crosswalks and right-of-way passages worsened traffic congestion.

Rampant illegal parking deprived short-term visitors of the use of curbside parking space for the rest of the day and caused drivers to roam, hunting for free parking space and thus adding to traffic volume.

Mapa was organized to regulate the use of on-street parking spaces in the MCBD, encourage the use of off-street parking facilities and thereby reduce traffic congestion and obstruction, minimize carnapping, theft of car accessories and vandalism, provide employment to deserving Makati City residents and generate funds for traffic management and improvement projects.

In short: to facilitate free movement and regulate the parking of motor vehicles in the MCBD by implementing the three-hour parking limit for a higher parking turnover and to allow short-term visitors to temporarily use the street for parking.

Ayala Land, owner of the CBD streets, and Macea, the overseer of the usage of these streets, signed a memorandum of agreement in July 1988 authorizing Mapa to conduct its operations on their private roads and streets. Ayala Corp. and Macea advanced Mapa some funds to defray initial administrative costs. Mapa then installed, laid out and posted traffic signs (examples: “No Parking” and “One Way”) and signals, painted crosswalks and lane markings, conducted a public education campaign via handbills explaining the new rules, and hired, trained and deputized field personnel to enforce the Makati City Traffic Code.

Starting with 60 employees, Mapa now has 153 field personnel managing and maintaining 1,510 motor vehicle on-street parking slots, 381 motorcycle slots, 74 reserved slots, plus the location and relocation of 127 Metrostore food trailers in the MCBD.

DISCIPLINE. At first, the public complained about the inconvenience and resisted the new rules, but Mapa persevered in carrying out their duties steadily and impartially. Mapa gradually succeeded in instilling discipline among drivers, especially when it came to parking.

Another good result is the promotion of peace and order because Mapa field personnel are equipped with radio transmitters with which they can instantly reach not only other Mapa personnel, but also other law enforcement agencies.

The collection of on-street parking and release fees is the main source of revenue for Mapa, which is governed by a board of trustees with the Makati City mayor as chair. Since its founding and until today, the trustees serve voluntarily and do not receive any remuneration.

Mapa contributes 15 percent of its gross income to the city government and plows back the rest for its financial requirements and for traffic-related activities, manpower growth and benefits, education and information dissemination and civic projects related to transportation and traffic improvement.

If you ask me, other cities and towns whose streets are full of illegally parked vehicles that obstruct and delay traffic flow should create their own parking authority.