In the National Park Czech Switzerland This year, nature rangers imposed 17 fines in the first half of the year for unauthorized entry and car parking in the park. Last year, 12 drivers were fined for the same violations throughout the year. According to the park’s spokesman Tomáš Salov, this year it is mainly about overnight stays of tourists in the park in motor homes.
“The driver enters the forest on forest roads, parks and usually intends to spend the night in the given place,” Salov described. “The fines have so far been in the total amount of 27,500 crowns,” the spokesman added, adding that this number is certainly not final. Tourists face a fine of up to ten thousand crowns for violating the rules in the protected area.
The problem is the lack of parking spaces
However, according to nature rangers, the main problem this year is the lack of spaces in reserved parking lots. In popular tourist places, they tend to be crowded regularly in the season, but this year the situation is even more challenging.
For example, in Adršpach Rocks have been struggling with the influx of tourists in cars traditionally. According to the head of the Broumovsko Protected Landscape Area Administration Hana Heinzelová, mainly Czechs are coming this year due to the coronavirus crisis, but the number of visitors has not decreased. “This year, the main access road is being repaired, between Adršpach and Teplice nad Metují,” Heinzelová added.
The PLA administration therefore recommends that people take a train instead. “The station is close to the rocks and people will avoid having nowhere to park. If they just want to drive, I do not recommend arriving between ten and four o’clock, when it is really full. It is better to visit the rocks early in the morning or later in the afternoon, “added Heinzelová.
According to the guardian of nature, the Broumovsko Protected Landscape Area, Petr Kafka, he tries to solve most cases near the Adršpach Rocks with a reprimand. “There are about hundreds of them. The situation is definitely deteriorating from year to year, “added Kafka.
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For example, in Jeseníky The problem mainly concerns the popular tourist areas of Hvězda, Karlova Studánka and Bílá Opava.
“Violations and subsequent penalties, not only ‘parking’, have increased. We focus mainly on very irresponsible cases, such as literally blocking the entrances to forest roads and significantly narrowing the passage on the main road. These cases can be a significant complication in the intervention of the integrated rescue system, and some visitors to these places in particular can pay for it, “commented Petr Šaj, Head of the Jeseníky Protected Landscape Area Administration.
V Moravian Karst this year, nature rangers imposed 50 fines in just the first half of the year. Twice as much as last year. Here, too, people park in places that are not designed for that.
“The problem is the insufficient number and capacity of parking lots. An example is the car park at the Sloupsko-šošůvské caves, which do not have enough capacity now in the summer and are also parked on the surrounding meadow. There is definitely an increase in this illegal parking compared to previous years due to the strong rise of domestic tourism, “said Antonín Tůma, the guardian of the Moravian Karst Protected Landscape Area. Parking by the road outside the parking lot, if it is not in the reservation, is solved by explanation and agreement.
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The lack of parking spaces is facing even popular tourist attractions Krkonoše, specifically in Pec pod Sněžkou. Cars queue here on the roads. “The capacity of parking lots in Pec pod Sněžkou is insufficient. First, the parking lot at the cable car will be filled, then the parking lot at the Javor ski area and then the cars will be parked along the road from Pec in the direction of Velká Úpa. On some days, it’s about a two-kilometer row of cars, “described Ondřej Moštěk, the guardian of nature protection in Pec pod Sněžkou.
However, drivers sometimes park outside the reserved spaces even where there are enough parking spaces. “The capacity of the official car park in the village of Javoříčko is sufficient for our visitors. Unfortunately, the number of drivers who do not respect traffic signs and park outside the reserved parking lots is constantly increasing. Most often they argue that ‘navigation leads them there’. Not only do they often do not respect the entry ban sign, but they also park in places that are not intended for that, directly on the territory of the national nature reserve, “concluded the head Javoříčské caves Martin Koudelka.
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