By Olasunkanmi Akoni

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu has revealed that President Bola Tinubu is scheduled to commission the much-expected Redline Rail project on February 29, 2024.

Sanwo-Olu, stated this on Wednesday, at the Lagos State Parking Authority stakeholders’ forum themed: “Parking in Lagos, the journey so far.”

He said that the state government has the assurance of the president to attend the commissioning of the redline rail project at the intermodal rail terminal in Ikeja on the set day.

The governor said his administration is committed to intermodal transportation which the Redline Rail project will further drive.

The state government had earlier launched the first phase of the Blue Line Rail project from CMS to Mile-2, Lagos-Badagry Expressway, aimed to move about 31 million passengers annually.

Meanwhile, the Red Line rail, when operational, is expected to convey about 500,000 passengers daily.

Redline stretches over a distance of 27 kilometres from Agbado to Oyingbo, with eight stations at Agbado, Iju, Agege, Ikeja, Oshodi, Mushin, Yaba, and terminates at Oyingbo.

Sanwo-Olu, speaking on parking system, stressed that considering the crucial role that parking management plays in traffic management around the world, and the fact that Traffic Management and Transportation is the first Pillar of our THEMES+ agenda, his administration cannot but place it on the front-burner of transport policy implementation in the state.

“As you are all aware, the Lagos State government has a strategic Transport Masterplan. Within the ambit of this Masterplan, we have the Lagos State Parking Policy, as well as the law that in 2021 established the Lagos State Parking Authority (LASPA), which has been saddled with the responsibility of regulating all forms of parking, adopting innovative, adaptable and sustainable operational system and technologies, while also laying the foundation for a lasting change in parking culture across the state.

“We are intentional and unrelenting in our efforts to address all traffic issues in the state, and we have identified indiscriminate parking as one of the major challenges to the free flow of traffic.

“We have adopted a model that ensures a win-win situation between the State and Local Governments. Lagos has already shown that this kind of State—LGA partnership can work, through the establishment of LASAA, and through the Land Use Charge, and we are now set to showcase the same with the Lagos State Parking Authority.”

The governor said that just recently, on-Street Parking Scheme was approved to regulate the existing roadside parking and checkmate haphazard parking in line with global best practices.

“We are utilizing existing major roads suitable to accommodate On-Street parking, and to create additional parking spaces, especially in areas with high parking traffic.

“The On-Street parking scheme, as with most of our projects, is being done in partnership with the private sector, and we will continue to explore the Public Private Partnership model in order to benefit from its effectiveness in delivering high-quality service to meet the needs of our increasing population.

“The On-Street parking scheme will be operated under a well-designed and systematic module managed by concessionaires and will be regulated by Lagos State Parking Authority. It is expected to be a win-win for both the government and residents of the state.”

Sanwo-Olu urged all stakeholders to comply with the Lagos State Parking Policy in the renewed and intentional effort to curb indiscriminate parking in the state, restating his administration’s zero-tolerance policy for the flouting of rules and regulations guiding the Lagos transport sector.

Earlier, the General Manager, LASPA, Mrs. Adebisi Adelabu, disclosed that over 20,000 setbacks suitable for parking across the state have been identified and more than 13,000 are already in use, while works are ongoing to identify more

“Also, over 1800 parking slots have been created through the on-Street parking strategy and 1162 signages installed to make parking easy for residents,” she said.