Struggle for a spot: how in Minsk trying to solve the problem with clogged parking

Every evening, thousands of Minsk drivers circle the yards in search of free parking space. As in the city are trying to solve the problem with the lines of cars on the sidewalks and along the roads, the correspondent of the agency “Minsk-Novosti” Daria Oshmankevich in the video release of “Evening Minsk”.

Evening Minsk: parking issue and physical education for children. Topical topics from 21 to 27 September

About 900,000 cars were registered in Minsk. While their owners work, cars need somewhere to “rest”, and at night – “night”. Hence endless car lines in courtyards and along roads, where beauty and practicality have long given way to harsh reality.

The state of eternal search for a free spot and the alarming question “Will I park the car in the evening?” are familiar, perhaps, to every metropolitan driver. The problem is obvious, and the city is trying to solve it. In sleeping areas, trucks are already actively moving to special parking lots, unloading yards. But for cars, the association “Garages, Parking and Parking” is preparing new proposals to make their territories more attractive.

- Currently, we have 115 parking lots: multi-level and single-level. Now there are about 3.5 thousand vacant seats, said the general director of the association Andrey Zyryanov. — We are working on the issue to have charging stations for electric vehicles in the parking lots. We also rent space for tire fittings and agreed with tenants to give discounts to those who store cars with us.

The option is not suitable for everyone, but if the parking is within walking distance, and the price tag does not bite, then why not.

- Storage of a car in open guarded parking lots costs 55 BYN per month, in the parking lot - 90 BYN. For trucks, tariffs are higher - up to 200 BYN, Zyryanov said.

The other front is the city center. The situation was stabilized thanks to the introduction of paid parking. Now there are more than 9.5 thousand such places in the capital, and by the end of the year their number will exceed 10 thousand. According to Mikhail Filippov, director of the Moscow Parking Center, the main goal is to make cars move, not dust for days.

- Previously, any employee or guest of the city came to the center, abandoned the vehicle and forgot about it all day. Now a person understands that coming to work for eight hours, he must pay. So he wonders if he needs it. Turnover has appeared, and several people can use one parking space per day, Filippov explained.

Experience shows that as soon as a new paid parking in the city, the percentage of defaulters on it reaches 40%. Information stands and blue markings alone are not enough. But everything changes with the arrival of the mobile complex of fixing violations - word of mouth is turned on, and the percentage of non-payment soon falls to 10%.

Tariffs depend on demand and location.

- We have the largest zone – yellow, there is 2 BYN per hour. The green zone is 1 BYN per hour. The most expensive is the central part of the city, the Upper Town, because it is most in demand. There, the first hour costs 7 BYN, each subsequent - 3 BYN, - said the director of Parking of the capital.

Experts constantly analyze the situation and adjust the rules. For example, there is a subscription for closed parking. Street. Castle, where about 170 seats, tickets were bought by almost 100% - this is a good way to save money for those who work in the center.

The schedule of open paid parking has also changed: if earlier they operated from 8:00 to 20:00, now - from 8:00 to 18:00. How much new measures to increase the attractiveness of garages and parking lots will help unload Minsk yards, time will tell.