Officials attempt to address traffic issues in one of Croatia’s most popular tourist destinations – Dubrovnik.
Starting from the beginning of the next tourist season, Dubrovnik will introduce a stricter regime of traffic control around the city centre, which includes charging for stays over one hour, confirmed the Dubrovnik mayor Andro Vlahušić, reports Tportal on September 28, 2015.
That is the recommendation from the traffic study which can be described as a conversion of the city centre in a rather expensive parking lot. The citizens of Dubrovnik and supply vehicles will not be included in the new system.
At the western entrance to the city centre, near the public garage at Ilijina Glavica, ramps “or other similar obstacles” will control the flow of vehicles to the town. Local inhabitants and vehicles with special permits will get a green light, while the yellow one will be reserved for other cars which will have to pay 40 kuna per hour at the exit from the centre. Cars which will just pass through the area or stay in the centre less than 60 minutes will not be charged.
According to Vlahušić, the goal of the city administration is not to raise revenue, but to bring order and reduce pressure on the city centre, to encourage the usage of public transport, to develop other parts of Dubrovnik, to protect cultural heritage and to promote environmental protection.
“The whole world is trying to reduce traffic in the vicinity of city centres. Dubrovnik is a city protected by UNESCO and therefore is a part of world cultural heritage. I made the decision to introduce the special traffic regime in the aforementioned zone”, said the mayor.
The basis for this move is the recently completed traffic study, and the mayor stressed that nothing revolutionary will happen since an hour of parking in the centre is already 40 kuna. In parallel with the new traffic regime, a smart parking system will be introduced to monitor in real time the occupancy of parking spaces and signal to drivers where free parking spaces are located.
“We have to try to control traffic jams. In addition, we will develop other parts of the city which tourists rarely frequent because they mainly go directly to the centre. From Ilijina Glavica to the old town, the distance is exactly 630 meters, ten to fifteen minutes of walk, with spectacular views of Dubrovnik itself. I cannot see to whom that could be a problem”, said Vlahušić.
“In this case, the revenue is not important to us. Our real revenue is the money which guests spend in restaurants, souvenir shops, stores and on excursions. Our goal is to impose order on the streets and to reduce pressure on the city”, said Vlahušić.
