Illustrative stock photo (source: Sme)
The inhabitants of Bratislava will pay for each car per household and for parking in other city boroughs. These regulations are part of the new parking policy approved by the city councillors on June 27, the Sme daily reported.
The proposal was supported by 45 councillors, including former critics. One of the reasons why it passed was that it will be managed by the city and not a private company, Sme wrote.
A new era of the city taking care of its public spaces has begun, commented Bratislava Mayor Matúš Vallo. The regulations will help Bratislavans to live better, he added.
What will be charged?
Parking for one hour: 50 cents-€2
One car: €39 + €10
Two cars: €199
Three or more cars: €699
Companies: €500-€2,000
“We’ll work hard with the city districts to prepare the zones so that all is in place by late 2020 or early 2021,” Vallo said, as quoted by the TASR newswire.
Who will pay?
The parking policy is expected to come into force in early 2021. The paid zones will be gradually introduced in the districts of the Old Town, Petržalka, Nové Mesto, Ružinov and other boroughs.
“In areas where the demand for parking spaces falls below 90 percent of the supply there will be no charge,” the city authority said, as quoted by Sme.
Every Bratislavan with a car and living in a zone with paid parking will have to pay €39 a year. They will also receive 100 hours of parking for their visitors.
If there are two cars in a household, people will pay €150 a year more. For three or more cars, the additional payment will be €500 a year.
Moreover, everybody will be able to pay €10 a year to park in other boroughs with paid parking for two hours. Also people living in non-chargeable zones will be able to pay for these cards if they need to park in paid zones. The card will not be valid in the city centre.
Although the payments for more than one car per household were criticised, the city made only a small change: payments can be made not only once a year, but also every six months or every three months, Sme wrote.
Vallo expects problems
Vallo expects several problems to occur before the new parking policy comes into force. Although it should be easy to prepare a parking policy, since they work in other towns and cities, Bratislava is more complicated.
“There will surely be discussions between the city and the city districts about what the zones will look like,” Vallo said, as quoted by TASR. “The biggest issue will be how to inform people who violate the rules that they must pay a fine.”
To make the new parking policy successful, it will be necessary to introduce more municipal police officers and improve parking controls via the objective responsibility institute, TASR wrote.
