In the last years, in my area of residence and work, the parking scenario was transformed. Everything was free, and now every single parking space is paid. Fortunately, as I am a resident, I was eligible to get a resident card, and I only pay 12€ per year and I can park for free. Do you have this option to where you live?
In the area where I live all parking spaces are free for anyone to park in. I think we don't see many parking problems since most people don't own a car so pretty much most spaces are empty. Most people who owes a vehicle usually own a motorcycle which doesn't even take up too much space. For example all the parking spaces in front of my house are all empty because most people take the bus, the most common mean of transportation here.
Where do you live @kamai? Pretty interesting how problems are different from country to country... I was recently in Amsterdam and there we saw bikes everywhere, but at the same time I don't recall seeing vacant parking places either. I am guessing the bigger the city, the bigger parking problems are, and the bigger associated costs are too.
Fortunately, most of the parking space in our area are free, well most of it but there are some that asks for parking fee. Most of the establishments here have their own parking space to which the customers will have the privilege of using, while other establishments doesn't have one so customers will need to use the "general" parking space which has parking fee. Not long ago, that "general" parking space was free and you can park your car for as long as you want, but now you have to pay for .50 cents (USD) for every hour I think.
A friend was just letting me know of her experience in her new place of work as regarding parking of car. She didn't quite know the management of the premises do charge for keeping cars in the compound. She parked her car there for over six hours and when it was time to go she was made to understand the parking has to be paid for. Most surprising it wasn't a small charge over $10
Enjoy it while you can @Jasmin Cottontail, that's all I can say because 10 years ago I had the same situation where I live, and today it's an entirely different case. I suppose that whenever local governments need more money, they just start "creative" ways of making us finance them...
@to7update I am currently in Cancun and live in apartments. I would think that Cancun being a busy city more cars would be crowding it but instead buses are. Some of my co workers own a car but prefer taking the bus instead since they claim it would be cheaper that way. Most of us had to travel 2 hours to get to work and the bus traffic can get a bit crazy sometimes so more gas would be wasted.
@to7update Hahaha Yeah, I couldn't agree more. I certainly believed that there are a lot of ways how the government raise and collect money from it's citizens without them knowing, or people know but just can't do anything about it. Just like this "used to be" free parking space, and yet all of a sudden it's now a paid parking. Even if they collect cents per hour, as long as there are a lot of cars being parked there every single day, they will earn a lot. And eventually they will increase the fee in the near future.
Metro Manila is now in the process of sprucing up the roads which means parking on the road will now be banned. I think more than half of vehicle owners in the Metro have no garage of their own and even offices are the same so the local government had allowed street parking. Car owners are willing to pay simply because they have no other choice. And now that street parking will be banned (to ease the traffic problem) car parks will be built and expect a high cost for tenants.
Thankfully parking is still all free in my current location. However, it definitely was very costly in my previous location. Cities are overcrowded with every house having atleast two vehicles and therefore there is a huge competition and earning potential for parking them.
What we are facing these days is not paid parking but lack of space for parking for four wheelers. Here roads are so congested with vehicles that you will be forced park vehicle somewhere too far away from your targeted location. Traffic police also installed no parking sign boards at more places which makes it impossible to park. It is better to use public transport and walk to your shop than parking your vehicle at a remote location. That is why whenever possible I travel on my two wheeler. It not only saves me from the hassles of parking but also saves some money in terms of fuel usage.
Sadly we do know, when they put their hands in our pockets. It's a really annoying situation because we have a car and we need to pay to park the car right in front of our home, doesn't this make any sense? You are living in Cancun @kamai? That seems a paradise location to be living in...!
Seriously? Well it doesn't make any sense. I don't know how could they do that, people should complain since it ain't right. Fortunately in our place, there aren't any paid parking in residential areas. But I think they will start implementing a law wherein you aren't allowed to park your car outside your house or even in front of your house, it should be in your garage. So basically, if you don't have a carport then you can't have a car. Unless you would like to park it elsewhere.
In my calculation that's absolutely wrong if the authority charge you for parking car in your residential house @to7update. It's okay for the government to thrash everywhere to generate money but having to ask people to pay for parking cars in their own garage at their homes is absurd in my view. Where do they expect the car owners to put their cars if they have no parking money.
Exactly @Jasmin Cottontail and @tonyb. I've always parked there, and a few years back I arrived home and had both my car and the one from my wife blocked due to bad parking. Meanwhile I have bought an authorization for 12€ per year allowing me to park on my own zone, lol.
Yes I agree with @tonyb, it's just wrong As an ordinary citizen, it feels so bad that we can't do anything about it since they (government) are the one who's implementing the rules and we are oblige to obey even if it's not right. It's totally abusing And the fact that you have to pay for an annual fee just to get an authorization to park in front of your home just ain't right.
Yeah, but it's so deeply rooted in our society these days that we have to pay for parking, that I actually feel it's a real bargain, just 12€ per year! Sure, it's cheap, but I have to pay for something that used to be free. There are people who call it legalized theft.
Well, that may just be another way the government hope to make money from the people @to7update. That twelve Euro may look small but when it's charged from all the car owners in the country it could amount to a very substantial sum. I still find it hard to understand why parking in one's residence will be subject to tax.
Yeah, I was actually very happy with those 12€ because sometimes I need to take the car to where I work (really close from home) and I needed to pay 2€ per day. With these 12€ per day I can park in my area of resident and one adjacent area of my choice, and my work area was eligible, so I ended up saving a lot of money.
I'm working in a highly urbanized area where free parking is mostly reserved for company executives. At home, I have ample garage space for two vehicles so I have no problem with the parking needs of my utility vehicle and personal car. However, we sometimes encounter problems with other residents and their visitors who block our driveway by parking their vehicle in front of our garage. Since most of the lot areas in our subdivision are quite small, house owners usually maximize their floor area and park their vehicles on the space in front of their house. You can actually feel the bullying and conflict between neighbors because of the struggle for street parking. The HOA is completely useless at crafting and implementing rules. In commercial areas near my house, parking is free on a first-come-first-served basis. A church here provides parking spaces within their grounds and they offer the cheapest parking fees.
