You pay for a parking space in almost the entire area within the ring road in Tilburg. But in five streets parking is still free on the east side of the city. And visitors are only too happy to take advantage of that.
Driving in circles
Local residents can hardly find a spot in their own street and are now arguing for paid parking. “We always have to drive in circles in the evening in the hope of finding a spot. And those circles are getting bigger and bigger,” two residents tell EditieNL. “And if we park outside the free streets, the meter has to be on. We don’t get a permit for those areas.” They argue for paid parking in their own street, so that they can apply for a permit themselves.
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The fact that paid parking has been introduced in the center is the cause of the problem, explains traffic expert Marco van Burgsteden of knowledge institute CROW. “If you designate an area for that, you also have to consider what the displacement area will be.”
Preventing the residents from being affected can be a puzzle, but there are options. “You can solve it, for example, with permits. Or by simply introducing paid parking there as well.”
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Paid parking
Over the past ten years, the area of paid parking in the Netherlands has increased by 33 percent. That saves municipalities a lot of money. In 2017 they collected a total of 760 million euros in parking fees, last year that was already more than a billion euros.
Bron: Spotzi / CBS
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According to Van Burgsteden, it is not surprising that more and more places in the Netherlands have parking regulations. “Parking space is scarce: it concerns twelve square meters per spot and then all the space needed to get in and out. That space is not available in all cities.”
Cost picture
The government also incurs costs with those parking spaces. “The parking fee can be used to maintain the places and, for example, pay enforcers who have to keep an eye on whether everyone is following the rules properly.” And paid parking has even more advantages. “It also ensures more throughput. People don’t keep a place occupied for long.”
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Free parking does not have those advantages. “It is no longer really of this time, I think. Although the retail trade will not agree with that,” said the traffic expert. “It encourages car ownership, while it would be better if the car is used less for short distances in the cities.”
second car
According to him, if parking costs money, people also think more about their car ownership. “Many people have a second car and research shows that it is stationary a lot. If there are fewer parking spaces, it becomes less interesting to keep that second car.” This is already being considered more in new housing estates by limiting the number of parking spaces.
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Municipality of Tilburg
The municipality of Tilburg has announced that residents have had full say in making plans for paid parking. There will be an evaluation of the parking scheme in December.
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