There is nothing that can fill a driver's heart with song and put a tear in his or her eye than seeing the above "Free Parking at Night & on Sunday/ Public Holiday" road sign.

However, those moments are few and far between these days, and most likely, getting rarer.

Not only have lots demarcated for free parking after 5pm, Sundays and public holidays been getting fewer over the years, it has been revealed in Parliament on Tuesday, April 5, that there are now fewer public car parks which have free parking on Sundays.

Senior Minister of State for National Development Desmond Lee told Parliament that currently, only 55 percent of the government and statutory board car parks offer free parking on Sundays.

In 2005 and 2010, the proportion was higher at around 70 percent, Lee said.

This was in response to a question filed by the Workers' Party's Non-Constituency MP Leon Perera.

Lesser free parking spaces undoes nation-building efforts

Government and Statutory Board car parks are provided by various agencies, such as the Housing and Development Board (HDB), JTC Corp, National Parks Board (NParks), Sport Singapore and Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).

The vast majority of these are HDB residential car parks.

The rationale, then, for free parking on Sundays, has always been a tenet that props up the ethos of nation-building.

HDB, for example, specifically states on their website that it offers the Free Parking Scheme (FPS) at various HDB car parks on Sundays and public holidays with the aim of promoting social interaction and stronger family ties.

With this notion in mind, barely two years ago, some drivers even proposed to the HDB to revisit its Free Parking Scheme (FPS) with a view to extend it to cover Saturdays as well.

However, in January 2015, the Ministry of National Development (MND) shot that idea down once and for all:

Extending the FPS (Free Parking Scheme) to Saturdays will result in residents having to also compete with visitors for parking lots on Saturdays too. On balance, HDB prefers to maintain the status quo and has no plans to extend free parking to Saturdays

Regardless of just how irrational this worry might be...

*Wipes tear from eye, with one hand on heart*

Singapore had always operated under a Free Parking At Night & on Sunday/ Public Holiday regime

For those who remember, heavy human traffic places like Bugis, Little India and Jalan Besar, and even selected spots near Tanjong Pagar, used to boast a substantial number of free parking lots after 5pm and on Sundays.

They have now mostly disappeared as they got painted over, had parking signs changed that extend coupon parking to 10pm or removed altogether so that drivers get directed to car parks that make use of the charge-by-the-minute Electronic Parking System.

With this advent of technology and insistence on pay-per-use, traditionally free parking have succumbed to the market-oriented approach of over-regulating things.

In the most recent case that has left a segment of drivers sore, traditionally free parking lots at popular public parks were converted to pay-by-the-minute ones.

The NParks rolled out the automated fee system at 18 carparks in 12 parks that started from July 2015, including Choa Chu Kang Park, Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park and Labrador Nature Reserve.

The move was meant to regulate usage and prevent abuse, said NParks, because the presence of stationary vehicles in empty car parks contributes to and is a constant source of exploitation... somehow.

This moment in history will be significant in hindsight as it marks the start of the State's ability to penalise any vehicle for being in a stationary position.

Regardless, as free parking on Sunday and in general becomes increasingly endangered, so might our delicate social fabric.

Might.

Top photo of increasingly rare Free Parking After 5pm sign by Belmont Lay

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