Kolašin: New companies for space and parking

The Agency for Design and Spatial Planning and Parking Service, two new municipal enterprises, should be established at the next session of the Kolašin Municipal Assembly (MA), scheduled for September 26th.

The establishment of the Agency is an obligation under the new Law on Spatial Planning, which stipulates that local self-government units establish companies to prepare local planning documents. The decision to establish the Agency was made several months ago, but a new founding act was necessary due to harmonisation with the new Law on Companies.

According to the draft decision of the local parliament, the Agency will be responsible for the development and revision of local planning documents, correction of technical errors in plans, as well as for the preparation of technical documentation and participation in the development of the Municipal Spatial Planning Program. The Agency's scope of work includes providing opinions on urban and technical conditions issued by the state and performing professional supervision over the execution of works financed from the municipal budget or other sources.

The management of the Agency is entrusted to the Assembly of the company and the Executive Director. As the Municipality of Kolašin is the sole founder, the Assembly's powers remain in the hands of the local government, which will elect the Director through a public competition for a four-year term and decide on capital and business policy. Supervision of the company's work will be carried out by the local government body responsible for communal affairs.

It is expected that the new company will enable independent and efficient spatial development planning, faster preparation of urban plans and better supervision of investments. Also, as explained, the Agency represents a significant step towards better control of spatial planning and solving problems with planning documentation in the entire Kolašin area.

The establishment of the Parking Service should enable more efficient management of public parking lots, better parking control and better quality municipal services for the citizens and visitors of Kolašin. The management of the company is also entrusted to the Assembly of the company and the Executive Director.

At the same session of the Municipality of Kolašin, a Study on parking zones, permitted parking time, categories of motor vehicles that can be parked, as well as the dynamics and amount of fees for using public parking lots in the municipality should also be adopted. As stated in that document, until now there has been no systematic parking regime in the city, so illegally parked vehicles were a frequent occurrence, both on local streets and in green areas.

"In recent years, Kolašin has seen a significant increase in the level of motorization, and as a result, increased parking requirements have been expressed, especially in the central area of ​​the city. Space as a resource for creating new capacities is very limited, and it is necessary to strive for optimal use of existing parking spaces. Parking needs are largely related to work, tourism, trade, and the like, but users whose basic parking requirements are related to their place of residence cannot be ignored," the Study states.

According to this document, there are 2232 vehicles and 6765 inhabitants in Kolašin. The total number of parking spaces in public parking lots covered by the Study, where parking will be charged, is 293. The Study defines parking zones, permitted parking time, categories of vehicles that can use public parking lots and the method of payment of the fee. The Police Directorate, traffic police and municipal municipal police are responsible for controlling and sanctioning violations. The proponents argue that systematic parking regulation will enable better functionality of the city, safety of pedestrians and drivers, and optimal use of existing capacities in central city zones.

So far, the Municipal and Water and Sewerage Companies have been the only two companies founded by the Municipality.

Vice President of the Municipality Vasilije Ivanovic recently told "Vijesti" that a company for managing sports infrastructure will likely be formed.