Spanish government wants to implement expensive parking in big cities

Spanish government wants to implement expensive parking in big cities

The Spanish government, specifically the Ministry of Environment, already has a strategy to expel vehicles from cities, which involves the implementation of low-emission zones (LEZ) in larger cities, and in those with the highest risk of pollution.

But now, Teresa Ribera’s department wants to reinforce this action by suggesting additional measures to the municipalities that are implementing their LEZs before the end of 2022. Extra measures allegedly include charging tolls to enter the bigger cities, along with raising the price of parking. These are designed to deter motorists from travelling into these places as they would find it financially unattractive.

“The regulated parking system can become an effective tool for reinforcing the implementation of an LEZ”, it stated in the parking criteria guidelines for the creation of the low-emission zones. “A high annual rate or tax can be raised to allow parking on the street”, suggested the department. This cost they also suggest, could be regulated by “taking into account the environmental distinctive of the vehicle (lower cost for lower emissions)”.

Ecological Transition adds that the councils can also assess implementing “several categories of parking for residents or non-residents, with different rates and time limits”. Although, “they should be approached with care, since there are studies that point to an increase in car ownership among residents by introducing this type of measure”, warned the department.

The ministry also recommends that the parking cost per hour in regulated areas, “should be higher than the cost of a single ticket on the public transport network, to promote collective mobility”. It also asks that the maximum parking in these places be limited to two hours. Currently in Madrid, the blue zone allows parking up to four hours, thus giving the possibility of solving short trips, “but not allowing the use of the car for daily pendulum mobility like going to work or university”.

Transicion Ecologica is also making a direct commitment to reducing parking spaces in cities to discourage drivers from entering. A low-emission zone, the ministry explains, must result “in a reduction in the volume of vehicles that can access said zone, so its parking needs must be graduated accordingly”, as reported by larazon.es.

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