vlad.tribnet.com / Issue #166 / Opinion / Reading article...

It is sad news that one of mayor Cherepkov’s more sensible ideas – to charge for car parking in the city center – has had to be abandoned as a total failure. The scheme was never properly thought out or adequately funded, but the principle was a good one.

Traffic problems in Vladivostok are increasing all the time as the number of cars explodes. Plans to remove the trams from Svetlanskaya street, plus the current work on widening some streets will be little help – and, in the case of the trams, may well worsen traffic. Of course, motorists everywhere hate paying parking fees. But most cities around the world recognise parking fees as a necessary evil — both to raise money for road upkeep and to discourage people from making unnecessary car trips in the most congested parts of town.