The Latvian government is deciding the fate of car parks

And if on many streets, the width of which was determined by horse-drawn teams, modern, very large cars can still pass, then soon there will be nowhere to store hundreds of thousands of cars.

Parking lottery

“What a parking lot you have,” my son, who lives in the village of Ulbroka, critically assessed the courtyard in the historical center of Riga. Fortunately, the jeep’s clearance allowed it to drive into a hole littered with bricks and boards by concerned residents. Maneuvering between trees and garbage bins, he left the guests. For us, this is an everyday quest, which becomes especially exciting in winter, when snowdrifts and ice form.

Parking itself, unless, of course, on private property or a guarded site, has long been a risk. If you leave your car overnight, what will you see in the morning? After the next change of car, I “stuffed” the newly acquired one – and how glad I was that, even after a couple of weeks, I received a painted bumper. Someone immediately scraped me in the corner. But there is such a thing in insurance as deductible, and I still had to pay 70 euros.

But the next time, when, while maneuvering near the sports center, a minivan crashed into my peacefully standing car, I had to paint the bumper, straighten the fender, and change the turn signal at the expense of the guilty party. His OCTA policy was already working here, because my CASCO had already expired. They made the rank a plane tree, it’s nice to look at.

But now I no longer react to small scratches that appear out of nowhere. Even if several of them unexpectedly appear at a time – who, how, where? But you won’t immediately notice the dent in the vertical trunk door either, but clearly someone hit it from behind. In general, everything works out for us, as in the countries of Southern Europe, where they like to park “by sound”, that is, until there is obvious contact with someone else’s car.

790 euros per touch

But every such incident, according to our legal standards, is a traffic accident. And it must be formalized at least by an agreed statement of the parties, and/or a call from insurers and the police. According to data from the Latvian Vehicle Insurance Bureau (LTAB), in 2022 there were 1,010 car collisions in parking lots – and only shopping center parking lots were taken into account.

In total, insurers paid out 5.09 million euros in claims, an average of 790 euros per car. Well, the most expensive was 16,561.69 euros! Well, this is apparently a combination of an exclusive car-sufferer and the force exerted by the guilty party. “You have to be able to hit,” my auto-tinsmith friend used to say, of course, praising his professionalism in straightening other people’s jambs.

And so, of course, pay attention to how fast our drivers move in parking lots. Apparently they are in a big hurry? The LTAB also notes “inadequate placement of traffic signs and markings” in car parks. “Car drivers are forgetting about the “right hand” principle,” insurers state.

According to the current Cabinet of Ministers Regulations No. 240, 25 square meters are required to place and maneuver one car in a parking lot. Of course, this figure is virtual, because no one will give a specific car the area of ​​a one-room apartment – however, this calculation is used when designing parking lots. For its part, the Latvian design standard for single-level parking lots assumes that for “convenient entry” a width of 2.5 m is required.

Meanwhile, as noted in a document recently reviewed by the government, since the adoption of the latest rules in 2002, the size of cars has increased significantly. For example, the Volkswagen Golf VII, which is considered a small-sized vehicle, now has a width of 2.03 m – that is, with 2.5 m of the permitted width, you can barely open the doors. And if, for example, a gust of wind opens it and hits a neighboring car, then this is again an accident. In this case, your author also had to register in “agreed”, in such an anecdotal case. Of course, not for the damaged car, on the door of which there was a scar.

Interdepartmental approvals

The topic of expanding parking areas is currently being promoted by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development (VARAM) represented by Inga Berzini (“New Unity”), but the Ministry of Economy, headed by the “green peasant” Viktor Valainis, objects – they say that the Construction Law cannot be arbitrarily expanded, imposing new standards. Also, the Ministry of Economy does not agree with the introduction of herringbone parking. It was supposed to be used to obtain additional space.

For its part, the Ministry of Transport, to which the Road Safety Directorate (CSDD) reports, did not consider the references to the experience of European countries reliable. And here is another interesting wording from the Ministry of Transport: “The application of the standard cannot be mandatory, and the conditions included in it are advisory in nature”!

One way or another, VARAM hopes that in Latvia it will be possible to “ensure the development and implementation of regulations that determine the revision of the general requirements for the planning, use and development of territories…”

Local governments are asked to inform developers about “the need to pay attention to parking areas and, to the extent possible, design parking lots in a herringbone pattern.” Also, “contribute to public education and awareness of the culture of driving in parking lots, emphasizing good practice.” Indeed, maybe we should start Finally, putting up some warning banners will still be cheaper than 5 million compensation per year.

The problem of the lack of parking spaces in the center, in the opinion of your author, can be solved radically – for this it is enough to turn to the experience of Brussels. Homeowners there have long realized that cars sleeping in multi-level garages bring in no less income than the residents. And they began to turn their buildings into parking lots for dozens of cars. Considering how many buildings in the capital stand idle in vain, VARAM could also work harder and make a standard for parking, for example, on two floors – the ground and underground. At the same time, the Art Nouveau architectural details on the facade would even greatly decorate such a house.