Virpazar will welcome tourists this summer season without three new parking spaces for buses and 98 for cars, which the Public Company for the Management of National Parks (NP) announced for the beginning of last year.
The reason for this is that the Program of Temporary Facilities for the Skadar Lake National Park, as this state-owned enterprise told "Vijesti", ceased to be valid on the last day of last year, so they are waiting for the adoption of a new one.
"After adopting the new Program of Temporary Facilities for the National Park 'Skadar Lake' for the period 2025-2029, the Public Company for National Parks of Montenegro will intensify preparations for the development of all locations planned as parking spaces. Considering the increasing number of visitors to the national park, the Public Company has proposed two more locations for parking spaces that would be developed without disrupting the ambient values of this protected area. A meeting was also held with the Municipality of Bar and joint cooperation on the development of new locations was initiated," said the NP, which is managed by the director Marinela Đuretić since September last year.
They remind that the Ministry of Spatial Planning, Urbanism and State Property is responsible for adopting the Program of Temporary Facilities for the Skadar Lake NP area, in accordance with the Law on Spatial Planning and Construction of Facilities, and that in order to prepare and draft the highest quality Program, the interested public could submit requests to the Ministry by October 24, 2024.
The electrical installation project is not finished either.
"Vijesti" is awaiting responses from the Ministry of Spatial Planning regarding the new Program of Temporary Facilities for the National Park "Skadar Lake" for the period 2025-2029.
Last August, the NP justified the unfinished parking lot by saying that "during the work on the preparation and implementation of activities and the analysis of the best possible solutions when it comes to the problem of the lack of parking space in Virpazar, they came to the conclusion that instead of manual ramps, as was originally planned, it is more appropriate and efficient to install electric ramps in order to facilitate the functioning and work of employees and arrange the space according to all standards". At that time, they also said that it was necessary to develop a new conceptual design and electrical installation project, after which they must obtain a new permit from the competent Environmental Protection Agency for carrying out work within the protected zone of the park.
"The news asked whether a new conceptual design and electrical installation project had been done and when they expect permission from the Environmental Protection Agency."
"The electrical installation project has not been completed by the time the Temporary Facilities Program expires. This document will be prepared in accordance with the law, that is, when the locations are precisely determined in the new Program that will regulate this area for the period from 2025 to 2029," said the National Parks.
The company also states that it was determined that the previously developed conceptual designs contained certain shortcomings, and that a slight adjustment of the project documentation was required in order to develop project documentation for electrical installations based on it and create the prerequisites for arranging the parking space.
"There have also been changes in planning regarding the number of planned locations for temporary parking lots, as the new Program has proposed two more locations," they emphasized, but did not specify which locations they were.
Without a plan B and responsibility
They do not have a "plan B" for this season, it is concluded from the response, because as they said, alternative locations for parking spaces cannot be planned, nor can any other space be used for this purpose, but must be provided for in accordance with the aforementioned Program and the law.
"The lack of parking spaces and organized parking lots in Virpazar is a perennial problem that the Public Enterprise has repeatedly tried to solve in accordance with the law. We emphasize that this issue must be approached with special attention, given that it is a protected area. Therefore, the arrangement must be in accordance with the ambient values and not endanger the landscape values and biodiversity of the park, which must be accompanied by appropriate analyses and permits for the arrangement of the space in accordance with the law," they answered the question of who is responsible for the fact that Virpazar will be without a parking lot this season as well.
They added that the arrangement of the parking space in this case does not include asphalting, concreting, and activities that could endanger the space, but rather refers to marking the parking space through the installation of bollards and ramps.
"The public enterprise continuously conducts field analysis, records locations that need development, and plans temporary facilities, and proposes new solutions in accordance with the law, with the aim of improving the quality of the tourist offer and relieving the burden on certain locations, taking into account nature, space, and biodiversity. We would like to point out that the increase in the number of tourists from year to year puts pressure not only on the park's infrastructure, but also on biodiversity, so all activities must be carried out with special care and in accordance with the law and recommendations," the state-owned enterprise emphasized.
Last March, they also had a parking price list.
"Regarding the expected date of the establishment of the parking lot, we are taking all necessary steps to ensure that the work is completed on time, before the start of the season. Putting the parking lot into operation also depends on factors such as weather conditions and others that may be aggravating, but we are trying to overcome the challenges as soon as possible, especially taking into account the quality of the performance," the NP said in March last year.
At the time, they announced that the use of these locations would require the payment of an hourly fee, depending on the type of vehicle - 50 cents for motorcycles, one euro for passenger vehicles, two euros for off-road vehicles, three euros for passenger vans and five euros for buses, and that the money generated from parking fees would be used for further investments in infrastructure and improving the tourist offer.
"The lack of organized parking lots in Virpazar and Vranjina, extremely visited locations, has been a perennial problem for local businessmen, residents, but also for employees of the Skadar Lake National Park who are performing legally defined activities," they said last March.
They then explained that they were acting in accordance with the programs for temporary facilities in national park areas, which define the locations where temporary facilities are to be erected, and which are adopted by the Ministry of Spatial Planning, Urbanism and State Property.
"The aim of the parking lot is to ensure access for visitors and ensure minimal impact on the environment, contributing to the development of tourism. Permits were obtained from the Environmental Protection Agency and the Chief City Architect, following legal procedures. More precisely, in October 2023, a decision was obtained from the Environmental Protection Agency for carrying out actions, activities and activities related to the installation of temporary parking lots, in accordance with Article 40 of the Nature Protection Law."
They received approval for the conceptual designs from the chief city architect in September 2023.
The Municipality of Bar told the editorial staff last year that the aforementioned parking lots are under the exclusive jurisdiction of the NP, and that the local government has been appealing for several years and communicating with that company to try to speed up the processes.
They are planning digital payment.
The digitalization of all payment systems in the future is one of the issues they will emphasize, they claim, and this includes a digital parking payment system.
NPCG has established an electronic ticket collection system, which includes, among other things, QR codes for scanning during issuance and control, online purchase of daily and annual tickets is enabled, and travel agencies that conclude contracts with the Public Company have an electronic platform available for creating vouchers for organized visits.
"Also, further continuation of digitalization activities is planned, which will also include the parking payment system in national parks. This must be preceded by an analysis of the best ways to implement the digitalization of parking payment," they told "Vijesti".
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