There is a huge problem with parking in Sofia. This was said in the program “Crossroads” by the deputy chairman of the Sofia Municipal Council (SOS) from “Blue Sofia” Vili Lilkov.
Sofians are unhappy because of the change in parking rules from the beginning of next year. People against the double price increase and the expansion of the zones protested in front of the municipality building.
“The solution is related to restrictions and limitations. If we reduce everything only to prices, we will not understand either the problem or the solutions&rdquo, commented Lilkov.
According to him, there are already over 1.1 million cars in Sofia. “If we give each car 5 meters to park, we will need 5,500 kilometers. The length of the street network is 3,400 kilometers”.
“Parking is a serious spatial problem in Sofia and we need to look for solutions in several directions. One way is to provide very good options with public transport. This way, people will safely leave their cars somewhere and will not burden the traffic in the center. The other option is to build as many parking spaces as possible”, explained Lilkov.
According to him, the idea of revenues from parking going to the construction of parking lots has been discussed for years. “Currently, the Sofia Municipality collects 38 million leva annually from the blue and green zones. A large part of this money goes to support the Urban Mobility Center, especially for parking and its regulation, as well as for maintaining public transport.
“The idea is that 40% of the money, which will be significantly more with the expansion of the blue and green zones, will go to the Urban Mobility Center for operating expenses. 60% we direct mainly to the areas for the construction of open parking lots,” he explained.
Lilkov said that we are talking about much more serious amounts of about 150-200 million leva per year.
“60% of these funds will go to the district mayors. Some of them have already submitted programs for the “muddy” points between the blocks to be turned into green areas and parking spaces. This money will definitely go there”, he commented.
According to Lilkov, over the years all the promises made by the municipal councilors and mayors have remained unfulfilled because the money is very small and has mainly gone to the Center for Urban Mobility.