Drivers will also pay on weekends. Polish resort changes rules

Smaller towns will be able to charge parking fees not only on weekdays but also on weekends. The Sejm (lower house of parliament) has passed the relevant regulations, and among the delighted local government officials are the authorities of Sopot, who are plagued by traffic congestion in the city center. At the same time, the Baltic resort wants to increase parking fees, providing discounts for residents. A completely different plan has been adopted in Suwałki.

The Sejm has passed an amendment to the Public Roads Act , which allows for the collection of parking fees on weekends in cities with fewer than 100,000 inhabitants. This is a significant change, long awaited by representatives of municipalities, especially spa towns.

Among them are the authorities in Sopot , where the real crowds and lack of parking spaces are visible on Saturdays and Sundays. " This is a step in the right direction , because we see what happens during the summer season or even on weekends: Sopot is completely congested ," Mayor Magdalena Czarzyńska-Jachim told Polsat's "Wydarzenia" program.

As the mayor emphasized, paid parking zones were previously in effect on weekdays, "while on weekends everyone drove wherever they wanted, blocking driveways and streets." The upcoming Thursday City Council session will also vote on parking price increases in the popular resort.

SEE: A patent for free parking. The "roll" trick is becoming increasingly popular in Poland.

"We are presenting a draft resolution to councilors to increase parking fees , but with a simultaneous package of additional discounts for residents . We are now conducting professional consultations, and we want to examine how to implement this parking policy," the mayor announced.

VIDEO: Drivers will also pay on weekends. Resort changes rules

Your browser does not support the video player...

The fee will increase from 5.20 to 6.90 PLN for the first hour of parking. Discounts are available for Sopot residents, including the option to park twice a day in the city center for 2 PLN. Starting this weekend, a zone between Chopina and Monte Cassino streets will be restricted to all but residents.

Suwałki recently took the opposite direction from Sopot, eliminating parking fees in the city center . Residents initially disbelieved the decision, as it was announced on April 1st, April Fool's Day. " We thought it was a joke , but it turned out not to be," one resident told "Wydarzenia."

From that point on, drivers only have to pay at 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 ," explained Kamil Sznel from the city hall.

SEE: He drove off the platform and onto the tracks. The senior citizen was "blinded by the sun."

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 .

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