Politic of parking in the center of Vilnius and old part of town

Abstract

The demand for parking in Vilnius central part (city centre and the Old City) increases more rapidly than the level of automobilization. In case if similar to present features of economical and social development as well as the amount of expences for the system of public transportation and maintenance of public transportation lines still remain for some years, the probability of chaotic satiation of central part of Vilnius by automobilies is quite real. This satiation has already affected not only more comfortable parkings but also parts of pavements as well as inner spaces of some quarters and even the streets which are of great sigmificance for communication of the whole town. The parking project of Vilnius central part was based on the following principles: the priority of traffic space is given to pedestrians as well as to the traffic of public transportation lines and to the traffic on the main streets of central part of the city. In the zone of the Old City as well as in the streets with intensive pedestrion movement or in the areas where residential houses prevail, traffic speed is limited up to 30 km/h, elsewhere up to 50 km/h. Iner spaces of the quarters belog to the inhabitants of these houses or are used for the automobilies of enterprises availabe here, in the regime determined by the inhabitants communities together with the enterprises. The remaining part of these spaces is used for parking, the number of necessary parking places at each building or object, is not guaranteed. In order to regulate the number of automobiles being parkard as well as redistribute and decrease local parking concentration of automobiles, the taxation of parking is differentiated in the Old City the taxation for driving in is set up. The initial amount of tax for parking could be changed taking in: account its actual influence to the number of automobiles being parked in the central part of the city in order to reduce the deficit of parking places, the municipality in propased to determine obligatory requirements for the estabishement of parkings as well as to deterime the conditions for constrcting reconstructing or changing the function of certain buildings: to create favourable conditions and stimulate establishing parkings in appropriate places by the means of enterprises and firms.