A Polish city has eliminated parking fees, leaving residents stunned.

It sounded like an April Fool's joke, but it turned out to be true. As of April 1st, Suwałki has been free from paying for parking in the city center. The only exception is a parking lot near the city hall. Officials on Polsat's "Wydarzenia" explained that the city was losing money on maintaining functional parking meters and providing additional work stations. Drivers, on the other hand, are satisfied, but they still have a new reason to complain.

Not everyone in Suwałki immediately believed that parking in the city center had become free . The date the change took effect on April 1st, April Fool's Day , heightened the doubts. "We thought it was a joke, but it turned out not to be," one resident told Polsat's "Wydarzenia" program.

As of Tuesday, drivers only have to pay in the small parking lot across from City Hall . "The streets and spaces that were covered by the (paid parking) zone were simply empty. We colloquially called it the dying of Kościuszki Street ," admitted Kamil Sznel from the city hall.

Suwałki has bucked the nationwide trend of introducing parking fees . Other local governments are gradually increasing parking fees – for example, in Białystok , a few months ago, they rose by over 40 percent. Local authorities believe that the zone "enforces a rotation" of cars , preventing them from blocking the space for hours.

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Even the fact that this source contributed several hundred thousand złoty annually to the local budget didn't dissuade Suwałki's government from returning to free parking. They argued in "Wydarzenia" that the city treasury was losing money anyway .

VIDEO: Parking fees end in Polish city. Residents stunned.

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The zone was in effect there for a dozen or so years. "In addition to (hiring - ed.) a controller, it was necessary to maintain the equipment and parking meters. There was, of course, a person responsible for the zone's administrative affairs," said Kamil Sznel.

Suwałki officials concluded that motorists were avoiding paid parking spaces by parking their cars in free ones, even though they were located some distance away. To save money, drivers were even willing to walk a few or even a dozen minutes to reach their destination.

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According to councilors, the April 1st move will help revitalize downtown Suwałki . Although drivers praise the changes, initial doubts are emerging. It's possible that if the fee-free policy doesn't work, they'll once again have to reach into their wallets to park their cars. "I think it's great, although there's more traffic now . It's harder to park anywhere in the city," one driver explained to "Wydarzenia."