₦airaland Forum

LASG DEBUNKS FALSE REPORT ON PARKING CHARGES FOR RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS

The Lagos State Government has said it is not imposing parking fees on churches or worshippers for parking on streets around religious institutions, rather it is implementing the Lagos State Parking Policy to mitigate parking-induced traffic congestion across the state.

A statement signed by the General Manager, Lagos State Parking Authority (LASPA), Mrs. Adebisi Adelabu said it has become expedient to debunk a recent false social media post regarding the parking charges for churches and worshippers in Lagos State.

According to her, the post incorrectly stated that “Lagos State Parking Authority (LASPA) on Saturday announced it will from October 2024 charge churches and worshippers in Lagos state, who parked vehicles on designated streets around places of worship”.

In clarifying the matter, LASPA emphasised that the information is inaccurate and does not reflect the true intent of its communication. Like many other major cities worldwide facing similar challenges, Lagos is experiencing a high demand for parking spaces that exceeds the available supply. Therefore, we are adopting a regulated on-street parking model to better manage parking resources efficiently.

Earlier this year, the Governor approved the introduction of regulated on-street parking, which was announced during a stakeholders forum held on February 14, 2024, at the Lagos Marriott Hotel, Ikeja.

As part of our efforts to inform stakeholders, including religious organisations who were adequately represented at the forum, about the upcoming implementation in October, LASPA communicated with umbrella bodies representing these groups. One of such correspondences was referenced in a news release making the rounds.

It is important to clarify that no specific religious group is being singled out by this policy. We aim to ensure that all stakeholders are informed and prepared for the implementation of the regulated on-street parking scheme.

Additionally, the Lagos State Government has designated and lane-marked suitable roads for on-street parking across major zones such as Ikeja, Surulere, Victoria Island, Ikoyi, and Lekki, creating approximately 1800 additional parking slots.

The communication sent to religious institutions serves to notify them of their respective roles and the financial aspects of utilising these designated parking lots. The management of these facilities will be overseen by concessionaires under the regulation of the Lagos State Parking Authority.

LASPA remains committed to improving traffic flow and parking management in Lagos State through transparent and equitable measures that benefit all residents and visitors alike.

For further inquiries, the statement urged Lagosians to contact LASPA on call 02-01-2275230 or 02-01-2275231. Or visit its office at 36b Sasegbon Street, Ikeja GRA, Lagos, or through the website: www.laspa.lg.gov.ng.

naptu2:
This is not just about churches

There were parking meters on some streets on Lagos Island when I was a kid (for example, there were parking meters on Broad Street). You paid (with coins) into the machine and you were allowed to park for a period of time. There were also signs that read, "No parking from Monday to Friday". In other words, you could only park on the side of those streets at the weekend and you had to pay to park.

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Last year or two years ago the Lagos State Government announced that they were going to regulate parking in Lagos. They would designate public places where people could park and you'll have to pay a fee in order to park there. Companies that have outside parking lots will also have to pay the government so that their staff and customers can park there.

I have seen a team arrive to clamp the tyres of cars that were parked in an outside parking lot of a certain hospital in Lekki.

They are going to clamp the tyres of cars that are parked in unapproved places and owners of cars that are parked in approved places will pay a fee.

NOTE: THIS DOES NOT ONLY APPLY TO CHURCHES

2022 thread

Lagosians To Pay Taxes For Parking Outside Their House
https://www.nairaland.com/7302500/lagosians-pay-taxes-parking-outside

Lagos Begins Collection Of Levy For Parking Outside Perimeter Fence
https://www.nairaland.com/7300603/lagos-begins-collection-levy-parking

Picture of an old parking meter.

naptu2:
I had a similar experience decades ago. There had been a thunderstorm that morning and parts of the street were flooded. The driver went to drop someone off before coming back to take me to school. He parked outside the compound when he came back.

I went outside the compound, was about to cross to where the car was, put my foot on what I thought was the driveway and down I went. The only thing that saved me was my agility. I went down and somehow came back up immediately. The neighbours were screaming. I pretended that everything was ok, but I could feel the pain in my thigh where it had scraped the edge of the gutter and the bottom of my shorts was wet. That mark stayed on my thigh for many years.

Basically, I couldn't see the gutter (or the driveway) because of the flood.


Now, I've mentioned two things I'd like to see standardised (covered drains and embedded service ducts), I'll mention another.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s the Lagos Island Local Government was described as the "richest local government in Nigeria". This was because it was home to one of the largest market clusters in Nigeria (Balogun-Idumota-Tinubu-Jankara) and the nations main financial centre (Broad Street/Marina). The LILG decided to maximise revenue from these facilities and also free up the sidewalk and they did this by clamping illegally parked cars, constructing the Marina Car Park and erecting parking meters at specific locations. Organisations reacted by building multi-level car parks and car parks on their first floor.

If you walk down Broad Street and adjacent streets, you'll discover that NECOM House (Nitel), Freeman House (Shell), Kontagora House (FMB), Niger House (UAC), St Nicholas House (St Nicholas Hospital), etc all have car parks on their first floor. This ensures that their staff and visitors do not need to park on the sidewalk.

Victoria Island was originally designed as a residential area, but companies that fled from Marina during its decline in the late 80s erected tall office blocks there. Most of them do not have these designated car parks, so their staff and visitors park on the sidewalk. There was a half-hearted attempt to correct this problem a few years ago (the government posted signs to indicate parking areas and non-parking areas) but it was abused. I think that the government needs to vigorously enforce the "no parking on the sidewalk" rule and ensure that new developments have adequate parking spaces before they are given planning approval.

naptu2:
I don't know which Lagos you are talking about, but in the Lagos I lived in we had traffic lights at Onikan Roundabout, on Awolowo Road and many other places. We had lots of fire hydrants on the Island and there were even post boxes. I didn't read this in some book, I went past them everyday.

naptu2:
This was a time that Ikoyi Local Government officials would be on the streets first thing in the morning to cut down trees after a rain storm. We had parking metres on Broad Street, etc.

It's debatable whether Lagos was better then or now and I think those debates are pointless, but let's not exaggerate things here.

naptu2:
I wìsh I can find the guy that was arguing with me years ago.


This guy said that there were no traffic lights in Lagos before 1999 when civilian governments took over.


I told him that there were traffic lights on Awolowo Road and Onikan, there were parking meters on Broad Street, there were fire hydrants and pillar boxes in Central Lagos and so on and so forth in the 1970s, but he said that it was a lie.

I wonder which Lagos he was talking about. This is a picture of Lagos (Marina/Broad Street) in the 1970s and you can see the traffic light there.

MasterJayJay:
The debunking was needless. Na same thing na. You will charge people for parking in the street. If someone parks his car on the street and enters the church, won't you charge him for parking in the street?

naptu2:
The debunking was needed because some people had already started saying that it was targetted at Christians and they were asking why Mosques were not included.

Check the first thread.

MasterJayJay:
Some people will believe now that churches are exempted. How many Nigerians dey read the content from top to bottom?

naptu2:
https://lagosstate.gov.ng/lasg-debunks-false-report-on-parking-charges-for-religious-institutions/

See previous thread: LASG To Start Charging Cars Parked Outside Church Premises Per Hour
https://www.nairaland.com/8160202/lasg-start-charging-cars-parked

iwaeda:
LASG is lying, the circular was addressed to Church leader and I got it from CHURCH