The Legislative Assembly held a meeting of the working group three months prior to the launch of the new paid parking zone in the Petrogradsky district, where applications will be accepted from May 1. The meeting was informative but not fervent like meetings of the Komtrans held with residents. The working group discussed the current state of paid parking in St. Petersburg, which now covers the Central and Admiralteisky districts. The Central District has 211 paid parking lots and 16,246 parking spaces, while Admiralteisky has 153 streets and 11,004 seats. According to officials, the speed of cars in the paid zone increased by 6% over the year, and the number of trips by car decreased by almost 60,000 per day. Rado and metro users, amounting to almost 80,000 passengers, migrated into paid zone. The city will not allow residents to exclude certain streets from the paid parking zone, but the issue of granting the right to issue parking permits to residents of streets not included in the address list of paid parking lots is being considered. Resident permits for near-free parking still apply to the entire area, with a change being made to permits for large families with four or more children. In Petrogradsky district, the acceptance of applications for parking permits will start from May 1, with the zone to work from July 21. The paid parking zone will start on November 1 in Vasilyevsky Island, extending up to Nalichnaya Street. The issue of closing open courtyards to solve parking issues is being considered, but installment of a barrier or gate poses a non-trivial procedure in terms of coordination.
ShareThe next meeting of the working group was held in the Legislative Assembly three months before the launch of a new paid zone in the Petrogradsky district (applications will be accepted from May 1). It was not as fervent as at the meetings of the Komtrans with the residents, but it was also informative. For example, it was said that a self-respecting person would not go to the theater by public transport. “Fontanka” says that they still talked regarding the case.
What is paid parking in St. Petersburg now
Now the coverage area is the Central and Admiralteisky districts. In the Central District, there are 211 paid parking lots and 16,246 parking spaces. Admiralteisky has 153 streets and 11,004 seats.
Local residents have been issued 51,664 valid parking permits, of which:
- 28.9 thousand – issued to local residents;
- 17.3 thousand – issued to large families;
- 4 thousand – issued to special vehicles;
- 1054 – issued to electric vehicles;
“Fontanka” said that Komtrans once once more reported on the positive effect of the paid zone. According to officials, the speed of cars in it increased by 6% over the year, and the number of trips by car decreased by almost 60,000 per day. Rado and the metro – almost 80 thousand passengers – potential motorists “migrated” into it.
Interestingly, not everyone perceives the acceleration of the flow as a blessing. The Let’s Go Association considered that the elimination of two-way parking really led to an increase in the speed of movement – which does not meet the needs of residents for quiet and safe streets.
However, the transport block itself usually likes to compare not with last year, since the factor of the recent quarantine is too noticeable here, but with the pre-pandemic 2019. How statistics can change from this – using the example of data on accidents in a paid zone, Fontanka showed.
Pay per minute – not from the first hour
“65% of paid parking users use it within an hour. Our task is to ensure that there are still free parking spaces. As soon as we give the opportunity to pay per minute from the first hour, what happens: 15 minutes a person stands for free, then he has 10 minutes according to the law to leave the parking lot (this is the interval given following the paid time. — Note. ed.), [то есть] pays for 5 minutes and the car occupies a parking space for half an hour,” said Dmitry Vanchkov, deputy chairman of Komtrans. As a result, he stated, the next one who arrives does not find a free parking space. Taking into account that part of the space is occupied by beneficiaries and residents, the free fund, which currently amounts to regarding 40% of parking spaces, will go away. And as a result, there will once more be parking in the second row.
After the meeting of the working group, the deputy head of the committee explained that there was no talk of abandoning the idea: “I said that the “wake” will definitely be introduced, it’s just that the question of introducing it from the first or second hour is being discussed. Information systems and equipment are currently being upgraded. Plus, it requires a change in the regulatory framework.”
Fontanka said that the parking management center had already ordered work on the development of an information system and an application so that they might pay by the minute. Launching it in March, as officials optimistically hoped, did not work out.
“Street” cancellation of paid parking
The city will not give residents the opportunity to address the general decision to exclude certain streets from the paid parking area. “Fontanka” talked regarding the fact that, in fact, the procedure for accepting proposals for the address list of the paid zone has existed for more than a year. In 2023, the activists of the Admiralteisky district decided to use it to the maximum, but the transport department stood its ground (even if it gave conflicting answers): we cannot exclude the street, because then we will not be able to issue preferential resident permits to its residents, and this, excuse me, is discrimination .
Literally the other day this collision disappeared. “The issue of granting the right to issue a parking permit to residents of streets not included in the address list of paid parking lots in St. Petersburg is being considered,” the same committee said. And on April 4, a draft special resolution appeared, where the procedure was changed.
So now, it seems, the Komtrans has no formal excuse left. But the conceptual approach remained, which does not allow to exempt individual streets from the paid zone. “This will create an additional problem for residents, because if paid parking is not introduced on their street, accordingly, it will remain free and all traffic flows will go there,” Vanchkov explained to Fontanka. – Imagine, this will be a white spot on the general map. Accordingly, when choosing where to park a car for free, the choice will be in favor of the street where parking is free. And people will face even more problems.”
There are indeed examples. Residents of the house on Lafonskaya, whose street is not formally a street, which means that there can be no paid parking on it, know this firsthand. Apparently, it is for such cases in practice that the new procedure for obtaining preferential permits is written (if your street is not included in the list of regional roads, but you live in one of the areas with paid parking). Not for those who want to exclude their street; applications will be satisfied, apparently, only to expand the address list (as it is already being expanded right now).
By the same logic, free parking at medical institutions will not be introduced – so that car owners who come and park in the neighborhood do not have the motivation to stand at the hospital or clinic.
What regarding permissions
Resident (i.e. local residents) permits for near-free parking still apply to the entire area. There is a change, in the same draft resolution dated April 4, it is written: “In relation to a large family with four or more children, two entries are made in the register regarding the parking permit of a large family for two vehicles registered to one of the members of a large family” .
There are more difficult cases. It often happens like this: a beneficiary, a disabled person or a large family lives, but the car is registered to another person, and a resident of a paid zone cannot obtain a parking permit. What to do in such situations, the deputies also asked the officials. Option one: the owner of the car registers in the apartment and applies on his own behalf with a request to issue a parking permit. The car does not have to be registered to the owner of the property, but that person must be registered to the property.
With regard to permits for leasing cars: officials agreed that this issue needs to be worked out and thought regarding making appropriate changes to the legislation.
New zones
In the Petrogradsky district, the acceptance of applications from residents for parking permits will start from May 1, the zone itself will work there from July 21 (except for Krestovsky Island). The area is already being prepared with might and main, furnished with parking meters and markings.
On Vasilyevsky Island, the paid parking zone will start on November 1 and will only extend up to Nalichnaya Street. “Only in the old part, where it is really necessary. Where we see parking, we see second-row parking,” Vanchkov explained. Earlier, local residents and deputies asked to release the Harbor quarters from the paid zone, where there are no historical buildings and the roads are not busy.
Closing yards
Fontanka wrote on the example of the Central District that open courtyards are becoming an alternative to paid parking for motorists, cars occupy every square meter there. Installing a barrier, or even more so a gate, is a non-trivial procedure in terms of coordination, especially on a historical facade. Deputies and experts also raised this issue, but Vanchkov only explained that “there is some progress, some yards are closed,” and added that it is better to ask the question to relevant colleagues: committees for property relations, the committee for urban planning and housing.
The official agrees that it is a matter of regulation to keep the procedure clear and simple. However, it is planned to specifically discuss the topic, just with the invitation of relevant committees, at the next meeting of the working group, which is tentatively scheduled for May.
Irina Korbat, Nikolay Kudin,
Fontanka.ru
In conclusion, the paid parking situation in St. Petersburg remains a topic of debate and continued development. While officials report positive effects such as increased car speed and decreased trips, some residents and associations express concerns over safety and the elimination of two-way parking. The introduction of pay-per-minute options is under discussion but requires upgrades to information systems and regulatory framework. The city has also changed its procedure for accepting proposals for exempting certain streets from the paid zone. However, the conceptual approach remains, with officials citing potential traffic flow problems and proposing alternatives such as closed courtyards. As the new paid zone in the Petrogradsky district is set to launch soon, it remains to be seen how these developments will fare in practice.
