Anastasia Balezdrova
Just days after the new mayor George Kaminis’ assumption of office the municipal service for controlled parking announced that it has handed out 3350 slips and recorded the registration numbers of 178 illegally parked cars just in a workday. The next day results are even better: 3750 slips and 214 plates.
Municipal authorities announced that the number of slips has doubled due to increased inspections. The number of fines did not exceed 1600-1800 daily by the end of last December.
Dozen of municipal police officers patrolled in groups of two again in the most central street in Athens. They passed by Ermou Street with main task to chase immigrants from Africa and Southeast Asia, selling duplicates of world famous brands in the street.
They avoided answering my question about the fines imposed for illegal parking by saying: "we are here for those who sell smuggled goods. Moreover, the problem of illegal parking is not so serious in the region."
Down the Mitropoleos Street, however, a jeep was parked and not one, not two but three municipal police slips were fastened with the wiper on the windshield. Two of the slips were dated yesterday and the today’s one was issued at 10 o’clock. Their total value: 180 euros. The owner of the car had left on the wheel a note saying "I am pulling off immediately".
Here's what Panagiotis whose shop is located near told GRReporter.
What do you think of the fines for illegal parking?
They made people crazy with these fines. They are continuously passing by the streets and tearing slips from the machines. They are entitled to impose a new fine every two hours. This means that if you had a slip and did not move your car they can add another one. At the same time, traffic police officers pass by and place their own slips. So, we often see cars with 3-4 slips on the windscreen. Not to mention that after passing by and writing the slips they sit in the cafes. Then comes the next shift and slips are being handed out again.
How do people react when they find the slips?
I saw a woman crying once, a man shouting... I am impressed how these young people whose salaries do not exceed € 800 write slips with such an ease. 80 euros is not a small amount, provided that the wage is 20-30 euros. Think about how many days people have to work to pay the fine to the municipality.
Did it happen any of them to return to their cars while the police was writing their slip?
Yes, and they protested but the police officers were adamant. They simply say that they do their job in a very insolent manner. Some people stop just for 2-3 minutes to do their job and fines are imposed on them for such a short time. The Spanish Cultural Institute Cervantes is near. A man wanted to take a document from the guard at the entrance very quickly. The municipal police officers wrote his slip as soon as he entered the building. The man returned filled with indignation. There was a quarrel and a lot of people gathered but the police officers did not respond at all. They stopped for about a month before the elections and a few days after them. Then continued with the same frequency.
Where would people park to avoid fines?
Prices in private parking lots start from 9 euros to which a euro per hour is added. So, if you leave your car there for two hours you will have to pay 10 euros. There are no free municipal parking lots and all state institutions are located in the centre. Therefore, people park illegally and municipal police officers pass by constantly and write the slips.
Is this bothering you, the sellers?
Sure, it is bothering us. This is a huge problem. People can not come downtown to shop. It is not allowed to park cars in the main streets, there are no municipal parking lots, as I said. Add the strikes in public transport. How many people would dare to take a taxi and go through this traffic jam to come here? There are days when we do not sell anything.
There were at least five cars in Mitropoleos Street with municipal police slips fluttering on their windscreens. Some car drivers stayed inside and waited for their companions to do their job and leave immediately.
But the story has another side. Some drivers often park in the narrow streets in the centre and block the traffic and prevent public transport from moving freely. Someone had parked his car on the street near the corner at Kolonaki Square. The driver of the minibus that arrived went out and started looking for the owner of the car who probably was in one of the nearby cafes.
Meanwhile, the row behind the bus became longer, horns competed in height and frequency, and motorcycles passed directly on the sidewalk. According to the bus driver, he and his colleagues call their office in such cases and they send the machine to pull the improperly parked cars. Fortunately, this didn’t happen because the driver appeared quickly and parked the car again in a prohibited place. There was a paid parking lot not more than 20 metres away.
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