After the May holidays, a "parking terror" will begin in the capital.
Once the lockdown ends, Moscow drivers returning from remote work to their workplaces will be in for an unpleasant surprise. Parking spaces will be significantly reduced, and a much larger number of inspectors will be enforcing parking rules. Furthermore, the authorities are planning to soon complete work on software that will allow for issuing fines for unpaid parking in seconds.
Considering that many areas of the capital are located far from the metro, and there is no ground transportation to rely on, urban planners call such plans “parking terror,” they write. News.
What will change
"You can all see how many cars have appeared on the capital's streets. The city's road infrastructure wasn't designed for such traffic. Illegally parked cars also impede traffic. Therefore, the towing policy is primarily aimed at developing a culture of parking, safety, and comfort for Kyiv residents," the mayor explains. Vitaliy Klichko.
As a result, immediately after the lockdown ends, an automated system for recording parking violations will be launched, allowing municipal inspectors to verify parking payments online. "Car owners will be able to pay for parking through the new app (Kyiv Digital – Ed.) and avoid violating the rules, leaving their cars free. And inspectors will be able to quickly and automatically record any violations detected," Klitschko added.
This refers to new software that city authorities purchased last April for over 100 million hryvnias. It allows information from various payment sources to be consolidated into a single database. Parking inspectors, equipped with tablets, can then use this data to verify whether a vehicle with a given license plate has been paid for.
As a source in the Kyiv City State Administration explained to Vesti, the authorities had been planning to launch such a system since 2016. "But the launch was constantly postponed year after year. The final approved launch date was April 1 of this year. But due to the lockdown, it had to be postponed again. The main difference will be that parking inspectors, who currently drive with tow trucks and issue tickets, will now follow specially designed routes and use new software to verify payment. In simple terms, they will point their tablet camera at the license plates of cars parked along their route and see whether the person has paid for parking. If not, they will be able to issue administrative citations using the same software. Previously, they could only use tablets to record the violation and forward the materials to the police for further citation," the source told Vesti.
To ensure Kyiv residents have no chance of avoiding punishment, the authorities are preparing to double the number of inspectors. "The capacity of the parking inspection service needs to be increased. Each inspector is currently assigned an average of six tow trucks per location, which includes several streets. Therefore, the parking inspection service plans to approximately double the number of inspectors and, if necessary, reinstate the notices seeking additional tow trucks from private companies," said Dmitry Rakhmatullin, head of the Kyiv City State Administration's parking inspection service.
But that's not all. According to City Hall, for several weeks now, authorities have been testing new equipment near Bessarabsky Market that allows for automated parking enforcement. As part of the project, new parking meters have been installed along the road between the market and the Arena. They are equipped with touchscreens, but the main innovation is special bollards with built-in cameras installed along the entire perimeter of the parking lot. These automatically recognize license plates and verify payments. They also issue tickets automatically. If the City Hall deems the experiment successful, they promise to install these "smart" parking meters in all problem areas in Kyiv.
As a reminder, the fine for unpaid parking is 20 times the hourly rate of the parking space where the vehicle is located at the time of the violation. This means the maximum fine is 200 UAH (an hour of parking in municipal parking lots in the city center is 10 UAH). However, the mayor's office is already considering raising the parking fee to 20-50 UAH per hour.
Blockers and "fixers"
It's difficult to say what the consequences of these changes will be. As Dmitry Bespalov, director of the transport modeling company A+S Ukraine, told Vesti, on the one hand, we see the city trying every way possible to regulate parking, limit vehicles on sidewalks, and control payments, but on the other, the city is doing nothing to increase parking spaces.
"No one in Kyiv has ever paid for parking, specifically in legal parking spaces, but now they'll have to. Otherwise, there's a greater risk of being fined," Bespalov told Vesti.
It's worth noting that last year, Kyivtransparkservice, the municipal enterprise that oversees parking, posted a net profit of UAH 3 million for the first time in recent years, compared to a target of UAH 100 million. Previously, it had been operating at a loss. The management's favorite excuse for the municipal enterprise's poor performance year after year was the lack of an automated payment control system. Now, one is being developed. But there's a problem.
As Bespalov tells Vesti, without an adequate alternative, the innovations could turn into a real "parking terror."
"Obviously, people will be unhappy with the situation. I expect a repeat of the situation during Chernovetskyi's mayoralty. He also took up parking at one point, and there was a story about the wheel blockers that were installed on cars. They could be removed after paying a fine, or they could be dealt with more cheaply—"on the spot." Incidentally, teams almost immediately appeared with metal shears and cut off these wheel blockers. And the public outcry was so intense that there was even talk that if you shoot the person who puts a wheel blocker on you, the court will acquit you, because you're protecting your property. Of course, that won't happen now. But there will definitely be outrage. Because drivers will have a lot of questions. Where is the alternative? Why this particular rate? Why are there so few parking spaces? The bollards, for example, are already being cut off with grinders, and the half-spheres are being thrown away. This is a senseless war. The city's leadership is largely to blame for this, mechanically implementing new measures but, unfortunately, failing to develop any serious solutions. And most importantly, there are no alternatives. There are no plans for major public transport purchases, no plans for rapid transit. It's unclear when the Vynohradar metro will open. And, frankly, this section won't significantly improve the situation in the city. As for park-and-ride facilities, we're again stuck with public transport, which people have to transfer to. If we're looking at Europe, then let's do the same. And there, public transport is practically empty. But that's not the case here. In Kyiv, it's operating at capacity. So, who will transfer where and where is unclear. We're moving somewhere, but no one knows where," Bespalov told Vesti.
To court because of the evacuation
Movements against illegal towing have already gained momentum. This occurs when a vehicle violates traffic rules and is subject to a fine, but does not obstruct the movement of other vehicles or pedestrians.
Lawyers advise that if your car was towed for a parking violation and you believe it was done illegally, you should definitely file a lawsuit after it's "freed." It's free, takes minimal time, and offers a great chance of recovering the money spent and receiving compensation.
For example, as Vadim Volodarsky, an auto lawyer, told Vesti, "releasing" a towed vehicle typically costs between 1,5 and 2 hryvnias, so people rarely seek legal assistance when challenging such decisions. After all, legal services can often cost more than the fine itself.
"But the problem does exist. Therefore, I have prepared samples of all the necessary documents that can be filled out with your information, printed, and mailed to the specified addresses. Such cases, as a rule, do not require the plaintiff's personal presence. The chances of receiving a positive outcome (monetary compensation) are very high. These are outlined in an e-book entitled 'Was Your Car Towed? Protect Your Rights! (A Collection of Documents).' It can be downloaded for free," Voldarsky told Vesti.
He says he was inspired to prepare this collection by the fact that tow trucks in Kyiv continued operating even during the quarantine, when there was no longer any basis for the policy of forcing people to use public transportation instead of private ones. "That is, public transportation is not operating as usual. But tow trucks haven't stopped working!" Volodarsky exclaims indignantly.
"Half the characters are extra"
As Bespalov told Vesti, a review of the placement of traffic signs would partially solve the city's parking problem. "There are a lot of 'No Parking' signs in Kyiv. A ton of them were installed at one point. However, it's unclear what the underlying principle was. This needs to be reconsidered," Bespalov noted.
But the mayor's office has a different opinion. As Viktor Cherniy, director of the Center for Road Traffic Management, told Vesti, there are no immediate plans to reduce the number of "No Stopping" signs.
"We have a Kyiv city strategy through 2025. In this strategy, pedestrians come first. Cyclists come second, public transportation comes third, and only then cars, which need to be parked somewhere," Cherniy told Vesti.
Moreover, given the coronavirus trends, with the majority of people switching to private cars, we cannot provide free parking for passenger vehicles. "70% of drivers come to the city center for work. This means that part of the road space is occupied for eight hours. This is unacceptable. Therefore, there are no plans to reposition the signs in the near future," Cherniy told Vesti.
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