Due to high land prices, free parking in the city center is becoming a rarity, and from the landowner’s perspective, free or very cheap parking is not sustainable, according to Karol Kovanen, managing director of private parking operator Europark Estonia, Postimees reports.
Last week, Postimees reported that the duration of free parking at the parking garage of Stockmann department store in downtown Tallinn was reduced from two hours to one at the beginning of May. This change was a joint decision by the store and Europark, which manages the parking garage, justified by the scarcity of parking spaces.
“The changes are due to an increase in visitors at the Stockmann department store, necessitating the rotation of available parking spaces,” Kovanen said.
Kovanen stressed that free parking spots in the city center are becoming increasingly scarce.
“Free parking in the city center is rather a disappearing phenomenon. Land and space construction and ownership are expensive. A parking lot takes up at least 30 square meters, and depending on the building, its cost in downtown Tallinn ranges from 200 to 400 euros per month. Free parking means that the owner either subsidizes it with other revenues or the client ends up paying for it through other services. There is no such thing as free parking,” he said.
He added that there is less space available in the city center, which is positive as the city center should be heavily utilized.
Kovanen believes that parking in Tallinn currently occupies a disproportionately large amount of space.
“There is more space under parked cars than under green areas or homes. Free and very cheap long-term parking needs to make room for other human activities and a greener environment,” he underscored.
Source: BNS
(Reproduction of BNS information in mass media and other websites without written consent of BNS is prohibited.)