The study on parking zones, which is a prerequisite for the concrete start of work of the Bar-based company Parking Servis, was adopted at yesterday's local assembly session by the votes of the ruling councilors, despite the opposition's request to postpone the vote on this document.
The study on parking zones, permitted parking time, elements of parking infrastructure and the method of charging for parking in public parking lots in the territory of the municipality of Bar was removed from the agenda of the previous session of the Municipal Assembly (MA) of Bar in order to be put up for public debate, at the request of councilor Vladimir Božović (Social Democratic Party).
Dejan Škerović, Secretary of the Secretariat for Communal Affairs and Traffic of the Municipality of Bar, presented this document and said that the constant increase in the level of motorization, mobility and dependence of residents on passenger cars has led to problems with traffic, but also with parking.
"The lack of parking spaces, the long search for a free parking space, the occupation of pedestrian areas by parked vehicles, as well as the increased level of noise and exhaust gases from vehicles, represent the negative effects of the parking situation," Škerović assessed.
A study of the public parking system in Bar, conducted at the end of January 2024, showed that the parking problem is particularly pronounced in the city center. Searching for a parking space in that area takes three to four minutes and the average walking distance from the parking lot to the final destination is 130 meters.
"Almost one-third of parked vehicles in the inner city have been parked for longer than three hours. People's dependence on passenger cars is particularly pronounced. The results of the survey show that around 41,5 percent of users travel a distance of less than 800 meters by car," said Škerović.
This Study foresees that there will be two parking zones in Bar - The first will include parking lots in the part of the city bordered by the Adriatic Sea, Bulevar Dinastij Petrovića, Ulica JNA and Ulica Barskih logoraša, parking spaces in Stari Bar, parking spaces in Žukotrlica and in Sutomore. Stricter parking conditions will apply in this zone compared to the second zone.
The second zone will encompass the part of Bar bounded by the Željeznica River, the railway line, Makedonska Street, Trgovačka Street, and Bulevar Dinastijë Petrovića. It differs from the first in that it is mainly residential in character.
According to data from the Study, these two zones have 5.644 parking spaces for private cars, 81 spaces for motorcycles, 236 for people with disabilities, six spaces for buses, while 201 parking spaces are reserved.
The price, as Škerović explained, will be defined by the board of directors of DOO "Parking Servis Bar" and they will, on behalf of the competent secretariat, propose that the price not exceed 50 cents per hour, or five euros for reserved parking and ticket privileges.
Opposition councilor Branimir Lakićević (New Serbian Democracy) assessed that the adoption of this document and the establishment of the Bar Parking Service does not work, is detrimental to citizens and only costs them since the company is being financed, but is still not operating.
"Tourists who came to our city recognized it as a city where parking was not charged. By making this decision, which will make the citizens of Bar pay for their parking space, Bar loses the exclusivity it had until now," he said.
He does not want to pay for parking in Bar and believes that they should not compare themselves to other cities. He criticized the fact that the authorities established a company for charging for parking, but did not create the prerequisites for its operation.
"We've had a parking service for a year that literally doesn't work. It's just costing the citizens of Bar," he concluded, adding that several thousand euros went to the salaries of the company's director and board of directors alone.
Valentina Minić (Democrats) said that this document had no purpose and disputed the proposals from the public debate that were adopted, claiming that only the demands of the ruling majority were respected.
She warned that there will be numerous court proceedings because citizens will demand the right to dispose of property of which they are condominium owners, that is, parking lots in front of their buildings, which are presented in the study as the property of the Municipality of Bar.
She emphasized that a prime example of this is the building, and the parking lot in front of it, where the mayor of the municipality, Dušan Raičević, lives, and assessed that this is discrimination.
She said that the parking lot was owned by the municipality but that it was "usurped by an investor who was allowed to do so" and said that they (Democratic councilors) warned the public about it and requested documentation from the authorities through a request for free access to information, which was never provided to them.
Škerović, on behalf of the proponent of the document, said that the parking lot she was referring to was located on multiple lots, that one part was owned by a residential building, and that therefore it could not be part of a public parking lot.
When Minić insisted that part of that land was municipal, he said that it was about seven or eight parking lots on public land that were "technically unfeasible to access and fence off."
Aleksandar Lekić (Movement for Changes) assessed that citizens are most interested in the price of parking and the question of whether they will have to pay for parking in front of their building, and that they do not have answers to these questions even nine months after the founding of the Parking Servis company.
Milena Božović (Biram Bar) is also not satisfied with the content of this study, saying that it represents an imposition on citizens. She emphasized that this document is not in line with the Decision on Public Parking Lots in the Territory of the Municipality of Bar.
Councilor of the ruling Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), Vesna Drašković, believes that the introduction of parking fees in Bar has become a necessity and added that she too is "not satisfied with the number of attendees" at the public hearing.
She is also most interested in prices, and thinks that there may be an assessment of the validity of the zoning, but she trusts the competent secretariat and the Parking Service to conduct a semi-annual assessment and adapt the zones if necessary.
She suggested looking at parking prices in other coastal municipalities, but offering the lowest in Bar.
Vladimir Božović (SDP), on whose initiative this document was previously removed from the agenda and put up for public debate, said that the goal of the public debate had been achieved and that it was not a formality but an essential part of the process.
He pointed out that some proposals were included in the final document, and as an example, he stated that parking would not be charged on Ruske solidarnosti Street, and that the introduction of one-way traffic would additionally burden the intersection near the market in Stari Bar, the introduction of official parking lots near the Sports Center and parking for buses...
The opposition requested a postponement of the vote.
After a break in the session, which was given by the head of the local assembly, Branislav Nenezić, at the request of the opposition, Milena Božović, on behalf of the opposition councilors, submitted a request to postpone the vote, in which they requested the postponement of the vote on this agenda item due to inconsistency with the Decision on Public Parking Lots in the Territory of the Municipality of Bar, which is the legal basis for the adoption of this Study.
"We also request the opinion of the competent working bodies - the Committee for Planning, Spatial Development and Communal and Housing Activities regarding the compliance of the graphic and textual part of the Study and the Committee for Statute and Regulations regarding compliance with the Decision on Public Parking Lots in the Territory of the Municipality of Bar," the request states.
They assessed that during the discussion on this item of the agenda, a large number of proposals were made to amend the Study in order to bring it into line with the legal basis. There is a discrepancy in the article that stipulates that the authority responsible for traffic affairs is obliged to designate at least five designated parking spaces for vehicles of persons with disabilities in a public parking lot, Božović said.
"It is obvious that in the Study, certain parking lots do not meet this imperative provision," she concluded.
It is also necessary to seek the opinion of the NGO Organization of the Blind for Bar and Ulcinj regarding this Study, which expressed its willingness to attend the session, but due to unforeseen circumstances informed that they were unable to come.
"If the Municipal Assembly adopts a Study that is not in line with the rights of persons with disabilities, there are several possible legal consequences, from the annulment of this decision to the liability of the municipality for violation of rights. In addition, such a decision may have a significant negative impact on the lives of persons with disabilities, and the municipality may be faced with lawsuits, criticism, and even claims for damages," reads the request signed by nine opposition councilors.
Minić (Democrats) underlined that it is very important to comply with this request and that the Municipality of Bar, if such a document is adopted, could be characterized as violating human rights.
Secretary Škerović said that when it comes to parking spaces for people with disabilities, they simply planned "correctly". According to his estimates, 44 such spaces are missing in the first and second zones, and he said that this study can be adopted in phases and can be supplemented when those spaces are found.
He assessed that all conditions had been created for this document to be adopted, and accordingly, Nenezić rejected the opposition's request.
Nenezić said that the opposition wants to "find the culprit" and transfer responsibility for the adoption of this document to him, and that this request is intended to "show the breadth of the parliament speaker or shift the blame onto him", as, as he said, is often the case with the opposition's actions on pressing issues for citizens.
He reminded that through the public debate, both NGO representatives and citizens had the opportunity to express their opinions, and that they also heard the word of the profession. He emphasized that there are no technical conditions to fulfill the article that has not been harmonized, which refers to parking spaces for people with disabilities.
The Bar councilors voted publicly, by roll call, for the Study on Parking Zones, and it was adopted with 19 votes "in favor" of the councilors.
See more:
Download the app and follow the news
FOLLOW US ON
