Paid parking also on weekends? Warsaw is getting ready to change
Driving a car on weekends in the very center of Warsaw, especially in the vicinity of the Old Town, is not the most pleasant. Circling to find a parking space now takes as long as walking around later, and traffic jams and noise are worse than on weekdays. According to the devices, this is due to the lack of parking fees on weekends.
About the latest plans for what to charge for weekend parking first wrote “Gazeta Wyborcza”.
The fittings have been going on in the city since 2019. It was then that the regulations allowing the city of over 100,000 inhabitants came into force. residents to take this step. First, the city must designate a downtown paid parking zone. And that, in turn, must provide quality analysis. The Warsaw Municipal Roads Authority waited with the diagnosis of such research until the autumn of last year. Previously, they would not have made one sense, because the coronavirus pandemic completely changed the traffic in the city and the behavior of drivers.
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The results of these studies are not surprising. – According to our findings, there are places where it is more difficult to park at the weekend than on a working day – says ZDM spokesman Jakub Dybalski. – And after all, Warsaw is surrounded by park&ride car parks, so you can reach these places by public transport, just push your own car there. And if someone will have to drive there with their own car, the solution is simply to find a place to park – bringing Dybalski.
According to road engineers, the downtown paid parking zone will adequately cover the center of Warsaw: downtown – including the Old and New Town, the vicinity of Łazienki Królewskie and nearby Wola.
Parking can be more expensive
Pursuant to the provisions of the law, fees under the Downtown Tax Law may amount to as much as PLN 15 per hour. For now, ZDM proposes that the rate be the same as on days of the week. Currently up to PLN 4.5 for the first hour. – These are fees that work in Warsaw, that access to local parking spaces is less maintenance, so they are reinforced – explains Jakub Dybalski. – If there will be places in these places on weekends, then they will fulfill their task – performance.
As the officials explain, the rate must be very high so that drivers can know the parking space, and on the other hand, it cannot be too high, because then the zone would be empty. The current rates fulfill this task on weekdays. ZDM hopes that they will also work on weekends. This does not change the fact that the introduction of the city center zone opens the door to a significant increase in fees.
For now, ZDM has sent its recommendations to the town hall. If the city hall of the selected city introduces charges, it will have to prepare an appropriate resolution. The final decision in this matter belongs to the Council of Warsaw.