Without parking meters and with cranes in the neighborhoods: the new plan for parking in the City

Pablo Novillo

11/04/2020 17:59

• Clarín.com

• Cities

Updated 11/04/2020 17:59

The Buenos Aires Executive sent this Wednesday to the Legislature a bill to once

in the City.

The idea is to

and to pay electronically via cell phone.

Also, that the tow trucks can carry offending cars

and not only in their assigned areas.

But this modification implies a

in updating a system that works with contracts that have expired 

, and that generates many complaints from neighbors.

Metered parking is the only public service that the Buenos Aires government has not renewed in almost two decades.

The contract with the concessionaires SEC and STO expired in 2001, but as no new bidding took place, the contracts were extended.

This meant that there were no substantial improvements.

The cranes continue to operate in the same areas as always (Casco Histórico, Puerto Madero and parts of Recoleta, Balvanera and Palermo) and they do not attend the complaints of the neighbors when they find a car covering a ramp for the disabled, a bus stop or the entrance to a garage

.

In the City, the parking meters and tickeadoras only work with tokens or coins.

Photo: Archive

It is not a minor question: bad parking was last year the second reason for traffic violations, with 32% of the total, behind speeding.

So far this year, residents have

for this cause.

Furthermore, in Buenos Aires there is an almost

situation

: in an era in which practically everything can be bought with a smartphone, parking meters and tickeadoras only work with

.

The idea now is that the technology can be applied.

The first change is that metered parking will be controlled directly by the Buenos Aires State, without concessionaires.

Users will be able to

, using the Boti chat, a development of the Ministry of Innovation that works with artificial intelligence.

Payment will also be enabled with different

, and businesses with electronic payment systems will be added.

Today, in the City there are 4,000 spaces with metered parking.

The law approved, and never applied, authorizes reaching 130,000.

But the Government assures that it will charge a maximum in 80,000 places.

Bad parking is one of the leading causes of neighborhood complaints.

Photo: Archive

"We are going to prioritize the rotation of vehicles, especially in high demand areas such as

. There will be a simple and a progressive rate, and also special values ​​for, for example, the

when there are matches of soccer or recitals ", assured Juan José Mendez, Secretary of Transportation and Public Works.

Another key is that the neighbors will not pay to leave their car within a radius of

, even in the areas currently under concession.

The third axis of the new system will be the

: they will no longer be traveling the blocks in search of offenders, but will respond to the City's indications, which

based on those reported by the neighbors (they promise 30 to 40 minutes response) or what traffic officers see on the streets.

The City will be divided into three zones, each one with two hauling beaches.

In total, 60 cranes will operate.

There will be three concessionaires, with contracts for 10 years.

And they will charge a fee for their service, since

from the transport.

A system unchanged two decades ago

Why couldn't the system be renewed in all these years?

Due to a mixture of economic interests, judicial obstacles and lack of political initiative.

In 2005, the then head of Government Aníbal Ibarra had announced a new system.

A map was even known with the blocks where they would begin to charge.

It never materialized.

In 2011, the administration of Mauricio Macri promoted another law, which was approved but never put into practice.

There were also

for challenges and appeals for protection, from companies interested in participating in the business and also from opposition legislators, who questioned some points of the law and the specifications.

The companies in charge of the cranes have expired contracts since 2001. Photo Mario Quinteros

Last year, with a law that corrected some issues, the path seemed clear.

But the coronavirus pandemic came and stopped everything again.

For this reason, now the Buenos Aires government decided to annul all the processes underway and propose a new law, for which it needs 31 votes, which it would get using its own bench. 

"The objective is that we adapt parking to the new reality of the City. With an electronic payment system without parking meters, we are moving towards a more modern City," said Buenos Aires Chief of Staff, Felipe Miguel.

In any case, although the terms are accelerated, between the delays in the approval of the law and the specifications, the tender and other deadlines, the new system will take several more months to apply.

"We aim to start in stages

of next year," Mendez said.

Meanwhile, the current system

.

Today the haulage is charged $ 3,000 and the hour of parking is $ 15. In the City they

in the coming months.

For now, and due to the pandemic, metered parking is still

and the parking regime is valid for Sundays and holidays.

PN / NS