Residents from Prague 7 have opposed further increases in parking fees in paid parking zones despite the worsening availability of free spaces. The decision was made during a vote held simultaneously with the European Parliament elections. Of the permanent residents in Prague 7, 27.4% participated in the voting process.
The city council plans to increase the price of annual resident parking permits and wants to allow city districts to adjust the fees according to the local situation. Discussions are underway to increase the price from 1200 CZK to 2400 CZK annually, however, unofficially it could go as high as 5000 CZK, according to Prague 7 Mayor Jan Čižinský.
Regarding whether they wish to increase the price beyond the level set by the city council, 35.3% of voters said yes, while 63.6% chose no. “We, as neighbors sharing the same streets, must agree on the principle of parking. And that happened,” said Čižinský.
According to Pavel Zelenka, deputy mayor for transport, the city council coalition has been conducting discussions behind closed doors for more than half a year, almost without data and current expert research. He expressed his concern that the result would be a tired political compromise that would only mean a price increase without freeing up street parking spaces.
Parking zones in Prague 7 have been in force since 2008. At that time, 8.5 thousand cars and nine thousand parking spaces were recorded. Currently, there are almost 10 thousand places and 13 thousand registered vehicles. According to Zelenka, 94% of the capacity serves residents, meaning there’s little left to take.