In response to the huge problems with the lack of parking spaces in the central city area, along with the increasing number of vehicles, the Municipality of Kolašin, following last year's Decision on Public Parking Lots, has put up for public discussion a draft study defining parking rules, charging regimes and plans for future parking zones.
Kolašin is a city with barely 6.700 inhabitants and more than 2.230 vehicles.
The study defined locations suitable for a zonal parking system, considering the observed traffic load, proximity to critical infrastructure facilities, attractive zones, traffic flows and parking user habits. A total of 313 parking spaces subject to payment were identified, of which 293 are in open (general) parking lots and 20 in the public garage under the municipal building.
For now, public parking lots are located in the so-called red zone, which includes the most congested parts of the city. This applies to the streets: Mirko Vešovića (37 parking spaces), Buda Tomovića (30), Vojvode Mine (eight), Jagoš Simonovića (33), Palih partizanki (79), Generala Anđelića (14), Trg Vukmana Kruščića (14), 13. jula (58), Milutin Lakićevića (20).
It is planned to introduce additional zones in the next phase, which would include new locations with pronounced parking problems.
It is proposed that parking would be charged on weekdays from 7 am to 23 pm, on Saturdays until 15 pm, while it would be free on Sundays and holidays, except during the tourist season when charging would be implemented on all days. Payment would be made via SMS, by purchasing tickets at vending machines and points of sale, or at toll gates in garages.
Special categories of users, such as people with disabilities and emergency services, are exempt from paying. Also, residents and entrepreneurs in the parking zone are allowed to use preferential monthly tickets.
The study was adopted based on the Decision on Public Parking Lots of the Municipality of Kolašin, and the utility services of collection and maintenance will be performed by the Utility Company, although there is still no organized service for the removal of illegally parked vehicles ("spider").
Without clear signage, order and conditions for safe traffic
The conclusion of the authors of the study is that illegal parking is very pronounced, both on local roads and on green and undeveloped areas in the central city zone. The draft document states that traffic signals in the city area are quite neglected and inadequately installed.
"Horizontal signage exists, although insufficiently and in very poor condition. Street parking spaces are not clearly marked, or not at all, pedestrian crossings are in many places invisible, and arrows for directing traffic are missing. Vertical signage is also very scarce and largely damaged. Also, a large number of signs are missing, which must exist. The priority of passage at intersections is not clearly defined, pedestrian crossings, parking spaces, and parking spaces for taxis are not marked," the document states.
It is explained that the road signs, in addition to being incomplete and not providing complete information on traffic management on the main roads, were made contrary to the relevant standards. Therefore, "the general impression is that the traffic signs in the city are incomplete, unorganized and as such do not fulfill their basic function, which is to enable people to find their way around the city and increase the level of safety for all traffic participants."
Plans to build a garage
This spring, the Municipal Assembly (MA) made a decision to purchase seven private plots of land, totaling 2.333 square meters, for a cost of 611.000 euros, for the construction of a future city garage. As explained, they are located on General Anđelić Street. According to the appraiser, “the location is in a high-density area, dominated by collective housing.”
It is about 300 meters from the city center, and in the immediate vicinity are Kolašin schools and a kindergarten.
The technical details of the future garage project are not yet known, and in parallel with this intention of the local government, the opposition has proposed a different solution. The president of the Kolašin branch of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), Vladan Bulatović, appealed to the local government a few months ago to build two modern three-story underground garages at the locations of Trg Boraca and Trg Vukmana Kruščića.
Bulatović emphasizes that this would meet the needs of citizens, the tourism industry and visitors, and facilitate access to the city's main cultural and tourist attractions. According to him, spatial plans allow for such projects, and the construction would bring long-term benefits and an infrastructural breakthrough for the city, which aspires to become a serious tourist destination.
He recalled that DPS had already proposed including the project in the budget and participated in public debates on decisions related to the field of traffic, but had received a negative response from the municipal authorities.
Kolašin, according to Bulatović, deserves avant-garde solutions, because "mediocrity is not an option."
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