Parking protest hits new heights

　　Just weeks after Dongcheng district government launched its first underground hutong parking lot, residents condemned the move, contacting local media, including the Global Times, in a bid to continue the two years of protest against the site.

The new parking lot on Cheniandian Hutong, close to the well-known tourist street of Nanluoguxiang, was planned in 2010 and has taken 18 months to construct.

Residents from Jingxiang Fuyuan compound protested against the site in August last year, allegedly hurling bricks at security and construction staff. They claimed that the land belongs to their community compound, and the government had seized it illegally to build a parking lot.

"The local residents' committee took the case to court, but of course they lost," said a 76-year-old local woman, surnamed Yang, who had witnessed the case.

"People have given up hope for their land, but we still have schools and hospitals on this street, and they still find cars blocking the entrances," she said.

Although they may have lost a court case and the right to keep the land as part of their compound, the local residents' committee may be attempting to make another stand against the site.

"It's now about the price [of parking]," said one local resident, surnamed Wang.

"Some of the local committees have been meeting after members finish work; I think they intend to make some more official complaints," Wang said.

The parking lot has been in operation since June 11 this year; cars which park there are taken four floors underground by an electronic lift. The site still appears empty while the surrounding streets are clogged with traffic.

Residents' complaints have fallen on deaf ears as the site's management believes it is working for their benefit. Despite the desolate appearance, they claim the site is profitable.

"We should be charging customers 700 yuan ($110) per month as the maintenance costs are very high," said Fu Zhaolu, a member of the site management.

"We lowered costs for their [residents] benefit, to just 280 yuan per month. I think that every space has been fully booked," said Fu.

Members of the Beijing Huilongguan Hospital security staff, situated on the hutong, told the Global Times that traffic in the area had actually become worse since the opening of the new parking lot.

"It's just too expensive for most of the people in the area; no one around here can afford to park there and there are not enough spaces, so they just move out onto the street. That way the situation just gets worse," said a member of staff who declined to be named.

The government built the lot as part of a scheme to reduce traffic around the district, said a Dongcheng district press release in October 2010. According to statistics released by Dongcheng district management committee last year, the district is thought to hold about 350,000 vehicles on its roads, but have parking spaces for only 150,000.

"We are aware of the current situation with the site, and that the parking lot is still mostly empty," said a Huayuan community committee spokesperson, responsible for this area, who declined to be named.

"It is possible that the traffic management bureau will intervene at the site at a later date," she said.

A project to build a parking lot on Nanluoguxiang in 2010 drew widespread criticism from local residents and businesses. Beijing has been undertaking a major overhaul of its older hutong areas since 2008; the projects have irked not only local residents but also cultural heritage campaigners.

"It is a complete breach of hutong culture to allow car parks to be built in these older areas," said Hua Xinmin, a local hutong preservation campaigner.

"They should really make an attempt to move these sites elsewhere so that they don't create problems for the older courtyard communities," Hua noted.

Wu Kameng and Zhang Hui contributed to this story