Roundabout in Tetovo turned into parking, municipality announces measures

A new roundabout in Tetovo, which was supposed to ease traffic, has turned into an informal parking area after individuals began leaving vehicles on the roadway, creating a danger to safety and additional urban congestion, residents say.

"In front of my building I can never find parking, on these streets you fight for half an hour to find where to park, and every day it's the same problem. There are too many buildings, too many vehicles."

"For example, I live in this building behind me; for 142 apartments there are only 42 parking spaces, so you can imagine what chaos it is. And each household already on average has two cars at home, which means the problem is huge."

"For example near me, I live in Block 77; there used to be as many parking spaces as apartments, but now there aren't any and people have moved in from other villages so it's taken — meaning it's a problem. In general, come during the day now and try to find parking, there is none."

Plans and measures from the municipality

The municipality points to the Mobility Plan, which identifies over 10,000 parking locations as part of the long-term solution. Mayor Biljal Kasami, who is leading the city in his second term, proposes combined measures: multi-level parking garages, the introduction of one-way streets to allow zoned parking, closed parking facilities and other infrastructure solutions.

"We now have an integral solution to solve this problem, but we are aware that although we have now formally and legally completed the entire procedure, implementation on the ground will not be easy. Therefore it is foreseen to have a test period of either one month or three months," says Mayor Biljal Kasami. The municipality also rejected the feasibility study for a public-private partnership for parking lots and announced that management of parking will continue to be carried out by the municipal enterprise.

Photo: press materials from the event