And you thought free parking in central Zagreb did not exist…
In the Zagreb city centre, just a few steps from the Kvaternik Square and close to the Maksimirska Street, which are in the second parking zone, there is one of a few streets in this part of the city where parking is completely free. At the entrance to the Fijanova Street there is nothing which would indicate that the parking is free of charge – on the contrary, there is a sign marking it as the second parking zone, and the parking lines are neatly drawn. It is only from the residents and people who work there that a driver can learn that there is no charge for parking there, reports Jutarnji List on October 10, 2015.
For the last few years, this dead end street has been a point of dispute between the city authorities and residents who claim that they had at the very last minute stopped the attempt to introduce the charging system for the parking in the street.
The city had suddenly marked fifty parking spaces in the area which it considered to be in the public domain, but which actually belonged to the residents who once had their gardens there. After their objections, the city authorities ruled that the street was actually too narrow and too small for charging system to be introduced. However, the list of streets belonging to the second parking zone still includes Fijanova St., although the parking wardens do not control payment.
“One day they just drew the lines for parking spaces where they wanted to charge for parking. In order to prevent this, we put up flowerpots on the parking spaces belonging to us. Then the city authorities concluded that the street was too narrow and that parking will not be charged after all”, said a representative of residents in one of the buildings.
Although the parking is not being charged, a large number of drivers who are not familiar with the problem continue to buy parking tickets when they park their cars in the street. Marija Rebrović, who has been working in the street for years, told us that for the first week she herself did pay for parking. “I saw the parking spaces and the sign at the entrance to the street, so I paid for 8 hours of parking. After a week, residents told me that parking in the street was free of charge”, Marija explains.
Residents of the street say that most people know that parking is not being charged, and so do the residents of nearby streets where parking is being charged, so they often leave their cars in Fijanova St. Still, most residents do not mind.
Zagrebparking representatives say they do not control parking in the street, given that technical requirements have not been met, and that the sign at the entrance to Fijanova St. actually refers to four parking spaces in the Mandrovićeva Street. The question why there is no designation of free parking in the street was left unanswered. The city office which puts up such signs has declined to comment.
