Veles council approves new paid-parking prices as system returns after six years
Council sets hourly rates and permit fees as paid parking is reintroduced after six years; technical work and operator contracts are in progress.
The Veles municipal council approved a new price list for paid public parking, bringing back a paid-parking system that was suspended six years ago.
The hourly rates are set at 40 denars for Zone A, 30 denars for Zone B and 20 denars for Zone C. The first ten minutes will be a grace period. When paying by SMS, the SMS fee will not be included in the parking charge.
Zlatko Stojkovski, director of the public enterprise that will operate the service, said the figures were chosen to reflect local purchasing power and to align with comparable towns. He said: "The price list corresponds to the economic capacity of the citizens of the Municipality of Veles and is aligned with prices in Skopje – Centre, Shtip and Kavadarci." The operator will be the Public Enterprise "Park, Sport and Parking" (JPPSP), which will collect fees and maintain the parking areas.
Hours, permits and enforcement
Payment will be collected on working days during winter time from 07:00 to 21:00 and on Saturdays from 07:00 to 16:00. In summer time payment hours will run Monday–Friday from 07:00 to 23:00 and Saturdays from 07:00 to 16:00. Parking on Sundays and on public holidays will be free.
Resident parking permits will cost 300 denars per month or 3,000 denars per year; the permit does not guarantee a dedicated parking space. The same fee applies to parking permits for employees of institutions, who also are not guaranteed a reserved spot. Removing a wheel clamp will cost 1,000 denars.
Monthly permits for legal entities are set at 3,100 denars for Zone A, 2,500 denars for Zone B and 1,800 denars for Zone C; annual permits for these vehicles will be the monthly fee multiplied by 10. An annual subscription covering all zones for a private individual is 35,000 denars, and for a legal entity 45,000 denars; these do not reserve a specific parking place.
According to the prepared registry, Veles has 173 spaces in Zone A, 581 in Zone B and 209 in Zone C — 963 spaces in total. Parking on Blagoj Gjorev Street, from the Avona roundabout to the City Clock on 8 September Street, will not be charged because those are regional roads.
The price list will take effect when the paid-parking system starts operating; technical preparations, contracts with mobile operators and the installation of barriers and pay booths are currently underway.
Officials said local residents and business owners had requested the return of paid parking to restore order on the streets. The mayor, Marko Kolev, commented when announcing the relaunch: "Paid parking is needed to introduce order into traffic in Veles. Because what is happening is chaos."
Photo: SDK.MK)
