Mykolaiv City Council Rejects Paid Parking in Central Areas Amid Criticism

It was decided not to introduce paid parking in several central locations in Mykolaiv.

This was discussed at a meeting of the Standing Committee on Economic and Investment Policy of the Mykolaiv City Council.

In particular, it was decided to leave free parking lots on Spasska, Zakhystnykiv City, Naberezhna streets, as well as parking near the city council building.

The city council explained that the demand for these parking spaces is not high, as they are mainly used by employees of state and regional institutions who leave their cars for the whole working day. Therefore, it was decided that the introduction of a paid zone in these areas would not have a significant effect.

However, this selectivity has drawn criticism from some MPs. They believe that the uneven approach creates unfair conditions for employees of different establishments and businesses, particularly in the city center. Some also warned that the free zones could become a place of massive accumulation of cars, which could eventually lead to traffic jams.

In particular, attention was drawn to the parking lot near the prosecutor's office, which will remain free. According to the deputies, this may cause overloading of the location, as drivers who do not want to pay in other zones will start leaving their cars there en masse.

The final decision to approve the list of paid parking spaces in the center of Mykolaiv is to be made by the city council.

At the regular fortieth session of the Mykolaiv City Council, the deputies set the cost of 1 square meter of parking space per day. This can bring in about 300 thousand hryvnias a year to the budget of the Mykolaiv territorial community.

Intent reported that the deputies of Mykolaiv City Council approved the decision to open 11 new paid parking lots. This was supposed to improve the situation on the city's roads, as well as the safety conditions for pedestrians and cars. The municipal specialized installation and maintenance enterprise was tasked with developing and coordinating traffic management schemes with the patrol police department, as well as equipping them with the appropriate technical means.

Earlier in Mykolaiv, parking inspectors of the Road Safety and Parking Department began fining violators.

Ірина Глухова