How difficult is it to ease parking troubles? This district is exploring the construction of parking garages beneath public green spaces, and will also build "deep well" multi-level parking structures in the future.

Sunlit lawns, themed walkways, and multifunctional shaded squares... Since the completion of the public green space in the 325 community of Daining Road, Jing'an District last year, it has become a popular leisure and fitness spot for residents in the surrounding area. Who would have thought that there's more beneath this public green space: a public parking lot with 154 small vehicle parking spaces has been constructed and put into use. This marks the first independent public parking lot in Jing'an District to utilize the underground space of a public green space, significantly alleviating the parking difficulties for the surrounding residential communities.

This afternoon, 18 representatives and experts from the Junding District Traffic Park residential area, Mingyuan Community, Tangjiazhai residential area, Xinmei Republic City, and Yangcheng residential area visited this parking lot. During the subsequent symposium, they shared their experiences and proposed countermeasures and suggestions on the issue of parking difficulties, each from their own perspectives and needs.

Photo caption: The 325 Public Green Space project, located to the northeast of Daining Jinfangfu, features public green space above ground and a public parking lot below. It is the first integrated public green space and independent public parking lot in Jing'an District. Photo by Zhou Xin, Journalist of This Newspaper.

Journalists on the scene observed that the newly constructed public parking lot is located underground in the public green area to the northeast of Daining Jinfangfu. Even during working hours, there were still many vehicles parked in the garage. According to Ji Chunhe, Deputy Director of the Traffic Department of the Jinqing District Construction and Management Committee, after the completion of this parking lot, it has been opened to the public through the "Shanghai Parking" platform, effectively alleviating the parking conflicts in residential areas around "Dipu Garden."

Due to the majority of parking residents being from surrounding community residents, after the construction of the parking lot, three pricing models were determined through negotiations with the residents. In addition to hourly rates, the monthly subscription plan is divided into two types: one focusing on off-peak parking, with a monthly subscription fee of 600 yuan; and another non-off-peak model, with a monthly subscription fee of 700 yuan, allowing residents to choose freely. "Currently, over 60 households have signed up for the monthly subscription. It is expected that after a large number of contracts expire next year, more residents will choose this location."

Jing'an District, as a central urban area, has limited land resources and faces a prominent "difficulty in parking" issue. Addressing this challenge, known as a "people's project" of concern to all sectors of society, has been a collective effort to implement comprehensive solutions. In addition to exploring the use of underground spaces beneath public green areas for parking garages, Jing'an District is also researching the construction of "sunken well" parking garages.

Ji Chunhe told the reporter that the "well-boring" parking garage refers to the construction of a three-dimensional parking garage by vertically boring into the underground space. "The advantage of this technology is that it requires less ground area while offering high storage capacity. A large well can accommodate at least 200 cars, thereby alleviating a significant parking demand. Such parking garages have already been built in Xiamen, Hangzhou, and Nanjing."

Citizen representative Cui Ping from Gonghe and Xinjie Streets was highly satisfied with the parking garage under the public green space. She said, "While the housing conditions for Shanghai residents have improved, the difficulty in parking remains a major issue. 'My son-in-law has to drive around for over half an hour every day after work, and he's extremely frustrated.' Cui Ping believes that the parking garage visited today is excellent, and the idea of utilizing the underground space of green areas is also great. However, what is even more satisfying is the attitude of finding ways and integrating resources to alleviate the 'parking difficulty.' 'With the right timing, geographical advantage, and people's unity, difficulties will be less. Today's visit has given me confidence in solving the parking problem.'

During the subsequent roundtable discussion, departments involved in the comprehensive treatment of the "difficulty in parking" issue, such as the Jing'an District Construction and Administration Committee, Housing Administration Bureau, Planning Bureau, Greening and City Appearance Bureau, and Urban Management Law Enforcement Bureau, sought community feedback on the spot. Residents generally expressed that the problem of "difficulty in parking" in some old residential areas remains severe, with the number of new parking spaces not adequately matching the growing demand for parking. They suggested that peak-shifting sharing measures could be further refined. Some proposed that old residential areas should increase "external resources" by strengthening sharing with nearby commercial buildings, and that the "peak-shifting parking" and "tidal parking spaces" schemes could offer more time slots for greater choice. Others recommended that public parking facilities be built in conjunction with government investment projects such as new green spaces, parks, schools, civil defense facilities, and community public service facilities. Some suggested constructing temporary public parking facilities on old industrial buildings, underpasses, and idle land resources. Additionally, there were suggestions to consider the needs of new energy vehicles in parking garage construction, including adding charging stations and other public facilities.

Based on the latest census results, there are currently 306 public parking garages in Jing'an District, with a total of 61,462 parking spaces; 92 road parking spots, with 2,241 spaces; and in the 757 residential communities, 374 have a parking shortage, totaling approximately 30,000 spaces.

In line with the city's unified plan, Jing'an District has established the comprehensive "parking difficulties" governance project goal – by the end of 2022, a cumulative 7 pilot projects for addressing parking difficulties will be initiated, with the construction of 880 public parking spaces. In 2021, 3 pilot projects for parking governance and the construction of 350 public parking spaces were scheduled. Currently, these goals have all been exceeded ahead of schedule. This year, a total of 692 public parking spaces have been newly constructed, with 4 comprehensive parking governance pilot projects completed, effectively alleviating the parking supply and demand conflicts in some older residential areas.