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Hague politicians say ‘no’ to parking toll on Scheveningen

THE HAGUE –
This summer, motorists do not have to pay ten euros per hour for parking in Scheveningen. A large majority of the city council voted against the proposal of alderman Robert van Asten (D66) on Thursday evening. Van Asten wanted to introduce the parking fee to prevent nuisance for residents, but most parties fear that this will give Scheveningen the image of an expensive seaside resort. Entrepreneurs also turned against the plan.

Alderman Van Asten suggested significantly increasing street parking in Scheveningen to screw on. The reason for this was the situation of last summer. Then the seaside town filled up, clogging roads and residential areas. At the same time, there were still spaces left in the parking garages. By making street parking a lot more expensive in the summer than parking in a garage, Van Asten thinks to entice visitors to park their car in a parking garage.

But for this he got hands on in the city council not on each otherThirty councilors voted against his plans and only thirteen were in favor. Before the vote it was already clear that coalition parties VVD and CDA and opposition parties Hart voor Den Haag / Groep de Mos, Nida, Islam Democrats and the PVV would vote against. They find the increase from 3.90 euros to 10 euros per hour ‘exorbitant’ and the measure damages Scheveningen’s image, they say.

Parking garages

Interestingly enough, the PvdA college party and opposition parties SP and the Haagse Stadspartij also joined the opponents. These parties support the levying of ten euros per hour for street parking, but set the condition that the alderman would make ‘firm agreements’ with the managers of the parking garages about not increasing the rates. An increase in the rates in the parking garages would undermine the parking fee.

But Van Asten did not live up to that, they thought. In a letter, which the alderman sent to the city council only during the council meeting, he writes that the administrators have expressed the ‘intention’ that the rates will not go up this summer. According to the parties, these are not ‘hard’ agreements as the councilor had promised.

Huge mess

Ultimately, only D66, GroenLinks and the Party for the Animals supported Van Asten’s plan. Much to the frustration of the councilor. He understands some objections, but does not think that the parking fee would cause image damage. ‘Last year we had a bad image as a seaside resort because it was a huge mess,’ Van Asten said after the meeting. ‘We want to prevent that at all costs. So I think that we as a city improve the image of Scheveningen if we can ensure that people no longer park their cars on the street, but in a garage. ‘

The increase in parking fees in Scheveningen is not the only measure the city council wanted to take to prevent nuisance in the seaside resort this summer. There is a comprehensive action plan made with a large number of measures such as extra enforcement and police deployment, better information about access routes and more facilities such as public toilets and showers. These measures can count on sufficient support from the city council.

READ ALSO: Political tension about ‘parking fee’ in Scheveningen: criticism remains even after adjustment

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