The conditions of parking spaces are being improved in Vilnius, so drivers and residents will be able to find a parking space in the central part of the city more easily. To date, 196 spaces have already been vacated in the capital, of which 59 spaces are marked with signs indicating limited parking time.
In Vilnius, an increasing number of cars is recorded every year, and with it, not only traffic jams, but also challenges related to parking. Although residents are encouraged to come to the central part of the city by sustainable means of mobility - by bicycle, public transport, using a sharing service, efforts are also made not to forget the needs of car drivers. Therefore, in the summer, the Vilnius Council approved the revision of the rules for the use of reserved places for institutions and the change of their purpose.
So far, institutions have been allocated a certain number of free reserved seats. In the summer, a review of these places was started, after which signs were installed at some of them - parking for a limited time (for example, 2 hours or 30 minutes). These places can be used for free, regardless of the zone in which they are located, but drivers should remember how to behave when leaving a car in a limited-time parking place.
Reminder for drivers
By KET Sign 529 establishes the rule that motor vehicles are allowed to park no longer than specified, with the exception of vehicles marked with the distinguishing sign "Disabled" or with a parking card for disabled persons. Article 149 of the KET specifies that when leaving a motor vehicle parked in the zone of validity of the sign limiting the parking time, the driver must leave information about the time of arrival of the motor vehicle and leave it behind the front glass of the motor vehicle so that it is visible to other persons.
"The information left in the car about the time the car was parked helps the inspectors to determine whether the car is parked according to the KET rules, i.e. it does not exceed the set time limit. Drivers can indicate the beginning of the parking time in a simple way - by writing the time on a piece of paper and leaving it in a visible place. The most convenient and clear way is to record the time of parking the car with the help of a special clock. It is available at JUDU Customer Service Centers, most bookstores or specialty stores," says JUDU ("Communication services") customer experience manager Lina Juknevičienė.
If this is not done, the control cannot determine the duration of parking, so a parking violation is recorded and a message is left.
Shared spaces will only increase
It is planned that 299 parking spaces will be released for general use after the transformation of the reserved spaces for institutions. The following distribution of the following places is planned by zone:
- 168 places in zone M;
- 75 places in zone R;
- 35 places in zone G;
- 10 places in zone Ž;
- There are 11 places in the white zone.
The final number of seats will be known after reorganizing the reserved seats of each institution. Some authorities refuse the previously reserved and now allocated limited-duration parking spaces in their place - in this case, such parking spaces are assigned to the existing paid parking zone. The municipality communicates closely with the institutions and is looking for the best solutions for both the city and the residents.
The number of places for shared use will increase not only at institutions. "600 places will be installed by the end of the year by restructuring traffic management solutions. For example, removing "no parking" signs in some places and providing parking spaces in those places. At the same time, utilizing excess street infrastructure will also provide parking spaces where applicable regulations allow. The goal of such a transformation is to move parking in courtyards to the streets, and to leave the courtyards for residents to create spaces for communities," says Jonas Damidavičius, head of JUDU's mobility transformation.
Next year, it is planned to continue the activities in the micro-districts of multi-apartment residential buildings. By redesigning street spaces and applying complex solutions, we will aim to create more comfortable travel opportunities for both pedestrians and cyclists in the same street space, while also installing additional parking spaces where there are very wide and excess asphalt streets. In the coming years, it is expected that it will be possible to install over 1500 places using the existing street infrastructure.
