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ELTA has announced that such a decision, according to the authors of the initiative, was caused by frequent complaints from residents regarding the built patios. Because drivers from both the Center and the Old Town, who are looking for free parking spaces, leave their cars in foreign yards. Taxing streets (and yards) is not only intended to reduce traffic congestion in some urban areas, but also to encourage private car owners to make greater use of public transportation, scooters, or bicycles.
According to Justas Limanauskas, director of JV Parkavimas Kaune, the expansion of the parking areas was planned a year ago, but the situation was corrected with the COVID-19 pandemic: the traffic became less intense and no changes were needed until now. However, after the mitigation of the quarantine, the situation changes radically ”, explained the head of the company that collects the toll.
According to the investigation, more than half of the parcels in the old town of Kaunas have not been formed. However, residents still tend to close off even those courtyards to avoid unsolicited guest visits, and elsewhere, the spaces under the windows of houses or narrow streets simply become too narrow for cars.
“Firewalls can be installed only after the frame has formed. Otherwise, the area is open to all and all citizens have the right to use it. We strive to achieve a comfortable step or step through urban spaces; not all free spaces can be filled with cars alone. Taxing all central parts of the city and the courtyards of the old town would deter newcomers from cunning and cause inconvenience to local residents, ”says Martynas Matusevičius, head of the municipality’s Department of Transport and Traffic Management. of Kaunas.
The Kaunas municipality representatives recalled that the city is committed to significantly reducing the number of cars powered by internal combustion engines in the central part in the long term. This is planned to be done in accordance with the Sustainable Mobility Plan until 2030.
“To achieve our goals, we must encourage residents to choose alternative means of transportation. In recent years, we have significantly renovated the public transportation fleet and built new lanes for pedestrians and bicycles. We try to create the most favorable conditions for them to Kaunas residents use eco-friendly vehicles, especially during the hot season. Sustainable mobility is not only sought by Kaunas, it is a priority of many European cities, “said M. Matusevičius, who coordinates the organization of traffic in the city.
According to J. Limanauskas, the problem of the abundance of vehicles was previously very acute, especially in the center of Kaunas. However, the dynamics and intensification of the life of the city dictates the corresponding changes. Therefore, this problem is becoming a real headache in other areas, near business centers and newly developed residential properties.
According to Mindaugas Drąsutis, representative of the municipal administration of the city of Kaunas, “in response to requests and complaints from Kaunas residents, the Council meeting on Tuesday approved the proposal to expand the taxed territories by introducing tolls on new streets. and in all the old town and Patios of the New City. At the same time, as of July 1, the municipality will have to pay tolls and park cars on some streets in Aleksotas, Žaliakalnis and other districts of the Kaunas city district, which have not been taxed so far.
According to the municipal report, the changes will also affect more remote areas of the city near bodies of water. Due to the very high occupancy of the parking lots during the summer season, according to the proposals for “Parking in Kaunas”, 4 territories will be assigned to the Beach Zones, where the toll would be valid from May 1 to September 15 (1 hour – 0.5 euros).
Among those places, there will be sites near the Kaunas lagoon beach and it is planned to build a newly installed area for construction next to the Lampėdžiai camp until the summer. The analogous parking areas will be on the other shore of Lake Lampėdžio, at Gervių and Dovinės streets. In the part of this last street, it is planned to restrict the parking of vehicles in general, so that the cars do not park on the green grass, and its constant flows do not disturb the rest of the vacationers in the old Lampėdis beach. with dust and noise.
The changes also await drivers who leave their vehicles in the parking lot of the “Žalgiris” stadium. After the first three hours of free parking, parking at the stadium will cost € 1 per hour.
According to M. Matusevičius, Head of the Department of Transport Traffic Management, due to the high occupancy of parking spaces, which reaches 70 to 100 percent, more measures are being taken. Existing construction areas are being replaced on some city streets and in separate areas.
Currently, I. Kanto, Druskininkai, Nemunas, D. Poška, Puodžių, Smalininkų and Šilutės streets and the old town in the blue zone and the old town will enter the red zone (the most expensive). There will also be a site marked with a green zone on K. Donelaičio street, behind the Merkurijus construction site. In addition, part of the sites on Kęstutis, Smalininkų and Vytautas Avenue will be mapped to blue instead of the current green zone.
Residents located in the Old City and the New City (whose yards are taxed) can obtain special permits to store cars under preferential conditions. It would cost a few euros a month.
In all toll zones, a permit for a natural person costs 35 euros per year for the first car and twice that for a second vehicle. Slightly higher rates for legal entities: 105 and 210 euros, respectively. Residents of apartment buildings with land in their yards will not pay the new fees.
