The National Parks of Montenegro (NPCG) plans to reduce the problem of lack of parking in Virpazar this year by expanding the parking lot on the right side of the main road - opposite the center, although the company announced the arrangement of parking in that part of Bar two years ago. Locals say that this measure will also be very useful during the peak season.
In order to solve the long-standing problem with parking in this protected and touristic place, the NPCG said in March 2024 that three new parking spaces for buses and 98 parking spaces for cars were planned.
In August last year, they said that after adopting the new Program of Temporary Facilities for the Skadar Lake National Park for the period 2025-2029, they would intensify preparations for the development of all locations planned as parking spaces.
Despite this, the situation on the ground remains unchanged, and illegal parking, lack of parking spaces, and entering the center of Virpazar by vehicle remains one of the biggest challenges for those who live and work there and in Crmnica.
"Vijestima" is from the NPCG, headed by Marinela Đuretić, announced that this program, as a prerequisite for further steps, should have been adopted in 2025. The process is ongoing, the ministry is working on it, but it is stuck, as it turns out, with the Environmental Protection Agency.
The Ministry of Spatial Planning, Urbanism and State Property, headed by Slaven Radunović, submitted the draft program for approval to: the state administration body responsible for tourism, the administration bodies responsible for the protection of cultural heritage and environmental protection, the administration body responsible for traffic, as well as the local administration body responsible for traffic, having previously obtained the opinion of the local self-government unit on whose territory the program is being adopted.
Since the Ministry did not receive the Conditions and Measures for Nature Protection, including guidelines and data on zones and regimes for the use of natural resources and goods from the Environmental Protection Agency, nor an opinion on the submitted draft of the Program of Temporary Facilities for the Skadar Lake National Park for the period until 2029, the NPCG added, the legal requirements for its adoption were not met.
During 2025, the NPCG attempted to overcome the problem by organizing several meetings at the Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Northern Development, with the participation of representatives of the competent institutions. However, the Environmental Protection Agency did not submit the requested conditions and nature protection measures, they pointed out.
"The key contentious issue is the inconsistency in defining protection zones between the Special Purpose Spatial Plan for the Skadar Lake National Park (adopted in 2001), which defines the first and second categories of park values, and the Law on Nature Protection, which prescribes three protection zones. We note that the installation of temporary facilities is conditioned by the protection regimes defined by these zones," explained the NPCG.
At a meeting with representatives of the Environmental Protection Agency, held in March this year, it was agreed that Radunović's ministry would submit the draft program to the Agency for further consideration. According to the latest information from the NPCG, after several urgent requests, the process of drafting the program has been reactivated.
In 2025, the National Parks received approval from the Environmental Protection Agency to expand the parking lot on the right side of the highway, the implementation of which will be possible only after the adoption of the Program of Temporary Facilities for the Skadar Lake National Park.
Digital payment is also expected
Last year, the NPCG said 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 would be 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, and it was necessary to develop a new solution.
When asked by "Vijesti" whether this solution had been developed, they replied that the electrical installation project had not been completed by the time the Program for Temporary Facilities expired, and that this document would 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 2025-2029.
When it comes to digital payment, which has been announced, as well as an analysis of the best ways to implement the digitalization of parking payment, the editorial staff was told that the digitalization of all payment systems is one of the issues that the Public Company emphasizes, and this includes the digital parking payment system. However, that analysis is not yet ready.
"The 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 tourist agencies that conclude contracts with the NPCG have an electronic platform for creating vouchers for organized visits. It is planned to continue digitalization activities, which will also include the parking payment system in national parks. This will be preceded by an analysis of the best ways to implement the digitalization of parking payments," the public company announced.
Arranged parking spaces and regulation of this issue is one of the greatest wishes of the residents of Virpazar and a burning problem. That is why, as some of them told "Vijesti", they have been intensively addressing the administration of the National Park of Montenegro in recent years, talking, meeting...
Representative of the Shipowners' Association from Virapazar Sladjana Petranović She told "Vijesti" that they believe that adequately expanding and arranging the existing space opposite Virpazar, which has been used as a parking lot for years, would significantly contribute to solving the parking problem.
"This would reduce the pressure of vehicles entering the very core of Virpazar, especially during the peak tourist season, while at the same time increasing the total capacity of parking spaces and improving traffic organization," she said.
According to her, they hope that this project will be implemented before the start of the upcoming tourist season and emphasizes that the expansion of parking spaces in Virpazar is not entirely within the jurisdiction of the NPCG, but also of the Ministry of Spatial Planning and the Ministry of Ecology, with the Environmental Protection Agency playing a key role.
"For this reason, we expect that all necessary regulations will be harmonized and that an optimal solution will be reached as soon as possible," said Petranović.
Bad image for tourists
Another tourist season without adequate parking in the lake area would pose a serious problem, both for the overall image we send to the world, and for the daily lives of the locals of Crmnica and Virpazar.
Petranović emphasized this and underlined that the situation during July and August "is such that any, even minimal, expansion of parking capacity will be of great importance."
However, they believe that it is crucial to provide as much parking space as possible that will not endanger the lake's ecosystem.
"As one of the possible alternatives, we highlighted the area near the train station in Virpazar, where there is a certain parking capacity. However, the problem is the fact that this location is about a ten-minute walk from the center, and there is no adequately arranged access road," said the shipowner.
When it comes to the communication that their association has with the NPCG, she said, they can boast that it has been raised to a significantly higher and more open level in the past year. They are therefore satisfied because, as she claims, only through joint work can they come up with adequate solutions to the long-standing problems in Virpazar.
"According to the latest available information, one of the key steps at this moment is the adoption of the Plan and Program of Temporary Facilities in the National Parks of Montenegro. This would create the conditions for the legalization of the information desks located in the very center of Virpazar," Petranović stated.
As they have previously emphasized, the shipowners from Virpazar are not avoiding responsibility - on the contrary, they are ready to buy back their counters in a proper manner. However, this has not been possible so far precisely due to the fact that the aforementioned plan has not yet been adopted, so they hope that this issue will also be resolved as soon as possible and in the most adequate manner.
Several meetings were held this winter, Petranović said, with the key topics and priorities remaining the same.
"At meetings with the National Parks of Montenegro, their readiness and willingness to solve two key problems in Virpazar - the issue of parking and the regulation of information desks - were clearly expressed, which further confirms the need for urgent and concrete action."
No “Plan B” for the summer months
If the parking lot is not arranged by the beginning of the summer season, the NPCG does not have an alternative or "plan B" because, as they stated, "alternative locations for the parking lot 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."
In communication with the Shipowners' Association, which last year demanded that NPCG solve the problem of the missing parking lot in Virpazar as soon as possible, the NPCG said, it was determined that the previously developed conceptual designs contained certain shortcomings, and a slight adjustment of the project documentation was requested 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 conclude.
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