Portugal’s capital city currently has around 50,000 paid parking places, whereas 20 years ago, in 1995, that number barely reached one thousand.
By the end of this year, according to newspaper Diário de Notícias, Lisbon’s municipal parking and mobility company EMEL wants to create, as a start, a further 3,857 spots in paid-for zones.
On Wednesday the council debated a proposal to put forward for public discussion that would foresee a change to regulations which, in practice, would allow the entire city to be covered by paid parking.
It also looked into where more new ‘park-and-ride’ parks – where people who live outside of Lisbon can leave their cars for a low-cost fee and then continue into the city on public transport – could be created.
The move is part of EMEL’s activities and budget plan for 2016.
During the first half of this year the company aims to create a further 2,167 places in three zones already covered by charges in Campo de Ourique, Laranjeiras and Lapa.
During the latter of half this year it is looking to expand tariffs to the areas of Avenida da Igreja, Santos-o-Velho, Socorro, Carnide, Mercado de Benfica and Benfica/Avenida do Uruguai, freeing up 1,690 more paid places.
In total 3,857 extra parking spaces are to be created, 1,536 of which are reserved for residents, all of which will be added on to the 50,000 that already exist in the city and are a far cry from the mere 967 paid places that existed when the concept was launched in Lisbon in August 1995.
Most paid parking spots are currently in the centre of Lisbon and in some areas on the fringes of the city, such as the Park of Nations, Carnide and Belém.
But that could also soon change should Lisbon town hall pass changes to the general regulation of parking and stopping on roads, which would expand the paid-parking regime across the capital.
On Wednesday this week the council debated putting the alteration forward for a 15-day public debate.
Should the move pass through the rungs for ultimate approval it could open the floodgates to make paid parking possible throughout the city.
In a statement sent to Diário de Notícias, municipal company EMEL said, “EMEL and Lisbon Council have had frequent requests from the resident population and local parishes to intervene in areas that are not covered by the current regulation.”
It stressed “residents are those who suffer most with the disorder caused by traffic in areas not concessioned by EMEL.”
To back this up, Manuel Salgado, councillor for Public Spaces, said “various complaints and claims have been made with regards to abusive parking in areas on the fringes of zones where charges are in place”, namely in meetings for residents held in Alvalade, Arroios and Penha de França.
While the expansion of paid-for parking to neighbouring areas has been widely viewed as a positive move, it is not year clear whether tariffs in non-central areas will be cheaper or whether alternative parking options for people who live outside of Lisbon will be created.
“EMEL and Lisbon Council are studying various locations for the implementation of ‘park-and-ride’ parks, which will be announced in good time”, the company added in its statement to Diário de Notícias.
Also included in EMEL’s activity plan for 2016 is the construction of a car park in Campo das Cebolas and another in Penha de França.