Prague is implementing significant changes to its paid parking zones, particularly affecting emergency service vehicles. The city administration has announced strict new rules that will limit parking privileges to only properly marked emergency response vehicles, marking an end to what officials describe as “privileged parking” practices.
Deputy Mayor Zdeněk Hřib (Pirates) declared this move as a definitive end to preferential treatment in city parking. The city council’s Monday decision restricts parking exemptions to permanently marked emergency vehicles and those equipped with warning beacons. “This ends the practice of handing out parking permits to privileged individuals and their friends. Parking exemptions should only be granted to emergency service vehicles that save lives daily,” Hřib emphasized.
The transportation department will draft new guidelines for both marked emergency vehicles and unmarked service vehicles, including those used by the Security Information Service and criminal investigation units.
The reform comes in the wake of controversy surrounding Martin Kubelka, the city’s director, who allegedly issued parking permits for vehicles registered to his wife. While Kubelka denied any legal wrongdoing, the incident led to his proposed dismissal by Mayor Bohuslav Svoboda, pending approval from the Ministry of Interior.
However, opposition leader Adam Scheinherr of Praha Sobě claims the council hasn’t actually approved the end of controversial exemptions, noting that the resolution lacks specific instructions to terminate non-compliant permits.