This week, Paris officially became the first city to charge parking fees 3 times higher for large and heavy vehicles, which take up more space along the sidewalk and create more air pollution.
These are also more expensive vehicles, most of which bear symbols of Mercedes, BMW, Audi and other manufacturers, so this is also a kind of "tax for the rich", which will bring in 35 million euros per year for the municipality.
The residents of the city confirmed in a referendum that from September gasoline vehicles weighing more than 1.6 tons and electric vehicles weighing more than 2 tons will pay 3 times more for an hour of parking in Paris, 18 euros per hour in the city center and 12 euros in the suburbs.
This is another move in a long line of restrictions on private cars and the encouragement of cycling, led by the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo.
Tel Aviv is the local equivalent of Paris.
The city into which the most cars enter every day and which leads a progressive policy of limiting parking spaces, raising parking fees for drivers who are not residents of the city, and encouraging cycling and electric vehicles.
Tel Aviv is also the city with the best public transportation in the country: the most public transportation and the only one in its territory that has an Israel Railways track and a light rail.
Parking in Tel Aviv/Tel Englander
Mittal Lehavi, Deputy Mayor of Tel Aviv / Reuven Castro
So we approached the two candidates for mayor in the elections at the end of the month, Mayor Ron Huldai and his opponent Orna Barbibai, with the question of whether they would adopt a similar policy of making parking more expensive for heavy and large vehicles: would those who purchased a small car such as a Kia Picanto and Hyundai i10 pay less for parking in Blue and White than those who drive In a large German crossover.
The Tel Aviv Municipality confirmed that they received our question, but the Huldai Bureau did not bother to respond at all.
The Barbieri delegation, which has already made it clear that it will not harm private car owners and add parking spaces for them, despite the intolerable traffic jams and the recommendations of the professionals to encourage public transportation, sent us the generic response that does not really refer to the move in Paris:
"In Paris, compared to Tel Aviv, there are conditions suitable for the policy This one with many transportation alternatives, which includes a metro and public transportation systems that are among the most advanced in the world. Tel Aviv, as of this time, is still behind in public transportation alternatives that will eliminate the use of vehicles in the city, and there is no doubt that there is a need for a broad and innovative move that will make mobility in the city comfortable and advanced. As long as the move is not Completed, a similar policy cannot be applied in the city."
The one who provided a more factual answer was Mittal Lehbi, the deputy mayor and the person in charge of the transportation portfolio in the city, head of the Meretz faction in the Tel Aviv Council.
"Tel Aviv Municipality is indeed the most advanced in its parking policy. There are several principles that we promote, starting with charging higher parking fees from visitors to the city, especially in areas of demand, and reducing the number of parking tickets for a family home. Today there are those who also hold five parking tickets, we will reduce them to two And the rest of the cars will be parked in private parking lots or regulated parking lots. We have not yet discussed increasing the parking fees for large vehicles, as was done in Paris. We still need to complete the current steps before moving to the next steps and encouraging the entry of certain types of vehicles into the city."
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Ron Huldai
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