By increasing taxes for residence parking forty-fold, from 13,000 lei/month to 500,000 lei/month, Bucharest City Hall planned to abolish this type of parking and “fluidise parking spaces in the city,” general mayor Traian Basescu stated yesterday.
“I do not want to forbid anything, but to regulate, to enforce law and order through a system of taxes,” Basescu told a press conference. He states that there currently are 46,100 authorised parking spaces located on boulevards or around buildings.
“When you seize almost 10 square metres on the public domain in a boulevard or street and put a chain, in order to obstruct others’ access, it is normal to pay accordingly and not 13,000 lei per month,” the mayor added.
Basescu also mentioned that those who cannot afford to pay the new taxes, in effect from January 1, 2001, should not go to ADP headquarters until February 28 and should not pay their tax. Thus, their parking space will become public.
This means that any inhabitant can park his car on that space. In case someone illegally seizes and encloses such a space, upon neighbours’ request, the City Hall will send inspectors to check if public domain was seized in legal conditions.
If the legal domain is seized illegally, the fine amounts to 250,000-500,000 lei, of which minimum half the sum has to be paid within 48 hours.
“This provision does not concern those who do not have parking spaces and leave their cars on the sidewalk. I cannot sanction them as long as I do not provide parking spaces,” Basescu added.
The sums resulted upon the application of this provision issued by the General Mayor will be collected and cashed in by the public domain administrations in the six districts.
Some of the district mayors believe that this provision is illegal or void, as taxes in the city are settled by decisions of the Municipal or local councils.
District 6 mayor Dan Darabont states that he has envisioned a tax increase in this administrative area, but not at this level, adding that “when you make such an approach, you also have to offer certain facilities to those who pay more.”