France, Val-de-Marne: paid parking lots for two wheeled vehicles now operational

For the first time in history, some two councils of Val-de-Marne, Vincennes and Charenton-le-Pont have launched paid parking lots for two wheels.

The move according to the Mayor of Vincennes, Charlotte Libert-Albanel is not anti two wheels but aims at striking a balance between the two and three wheels vehicles.

The move was made possible thanks to the decentralization of parking’s management placed under the control of Mayors since January 1 2018, which gives councils the rights to decide the parking fees in the areas. Previously, two wheeled vehicles did not incure parking fee.

In Vincennes, the fast introduction of the measure came after a strike action from the Federation of motorbikes who manifested their anger in the past weeks. The Mayor of Vincennes reiterated that it is but normal for two wheels to contribute in the society and 800 places reserves carved out for them.

The Mayor of Charenton-Le-Pont council harboring 30.000 inhabitants explained that the measure is a direct response to the plights of the population and solves the problem of two wheels parking on pedestrian paths, provoking urban disorder. Here about 300 paid parking lots shall be operational in the council.

The parking fee is calculated in terms of time spent for parking and has been greatly reduced compared to cars. In Vincennes and Chareton-le-Pont, it is 1/3 of the cost of parking lots for cars and proportionate to their size.

Scooters, motorcycles and other two wheels will have to pay 1.50 Euros against 4.40 Euros for vehicles for a period of 2 hours. Failure to pay for the period spent on a parking lot, they risk a fine of 12 Euros. Fines for non-payment now called “post parking fee” is equally a third of the fee for cars, meanwhile residential tariffs would definitely be introduced which will be lore cheaper.

The introduction of the paid parking lots comes with new payment formalities. Henceforth, parking tickets have been suppressed and replaces by automatic counters which functions without payment tickets and records the vehicles license plates. This move is visible in the Vincennes Council.

It should be noted that with the decentralization of the management of parking lots, some councils decided instead to increased penalties for poor parking in the localities, 13 councils to be precised.

In Paris France,  about 97.000 two wheels ply the roads daily, and since January 1, 2018 when the management of parking lots was transferred from Divisional Officers to Councils, great progress has been made in maintaining public order and raising funds for the different council areas of Val-de-Marne. Mayor Anne Hidalgo has chosen to focus on reducing gas emissions.

It is expected that with this new decision, by 2020 in Paris, about 10.000 supplementary parking places by the roadside shall be created to add to the existing 45.000 parking lots in the town.