The situation is different than in the spring, says Prague. The blue zones will continue to apply
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While the blue zones have ceased to apply during the spring coronavirus quarantine, they will now continue to run
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Neither Prague nor Brno plans to suspend them. This refers to a government regulation
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But the reason may also be finances. The capital lost 140 million crowns in parking fees in the spring
The Czechia is quarantined again and the coronavirus situation is now much worse than during the spring. Nevertheless, we will probably not see a situation where cities would suspend the need to pay for parking, whether in blue or otherwise colored zones. Prague and Brno have their explanations for this.
“We are not currently considering opening up the paid parking zone, as was the case in the spring. The situation is different from spring and different regulations apply. Fortunately, the so-called lockdown does not apply at all, the economy is not stopped. We also need to protect residents who pay for parking, commute to work, and want to park at their home in the evening, “said Autobibli, a spokesman for the Prague City Hall, Vít Hofman.
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Filip Poňuchálek, a spokesman for Brno, refers to the government: “In the spring, the residential parking system was suspended on the basis of a government regulation. That hasn’t happened now. The city of Brno does not currently consider parking in the blue zones for free. “
Even in the spring, Prague did not suspend the validity of parking zones at its own discretion. Mayor Zdeněk Hřib initially refused, but then he had to take a step precisely because of the government’s decision. This was to reduce the congestion of urban public transport, which is one of the risk areas for the spread of diseases. Paradoxically, shortly afterwards, Deputy Mayor Adam Scheinherr urged people to leave their cars at home and take public transport.
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The fact that the city does not want to start suspending the paid parking zone is probably also due to the fact that it would lose huge sums, which they will collect on the parking fee. For example, Prague lost up to 140 million crowns during the spring quarantine. “Paid parking zones primarily provide places for residents, but we also have a profit from them. That is two million crowns a day, “said Scheinherr in May television Prague TV. The city then lost about 52 million by extending the validity of parking permits to residents.