The coastal city faces parking chaos every day: neighborhoods are filled with cars on both sides of the streets and citizens have difficulty finding an empty parking space, despite the fact that officially there are 7 squares and 16 street segments designated for paid parking, while free parking applies only to residents in the spaces between buildings.
"The 2025 budget does not foresee the construction of new parking lots," says the official response of the Durrës Municipality to Media Amfora.
Main streets and neighborhoods are filled with vehicles parked, in some cases right up to the sidewalks, making finding a parking space a daily challenge for every driver.
The Municipality of Durres emphasizes that the parking system is regulated by decisions of the Municipal Council, which define the administration areas and the fees for paid parking, both in squares and on the city's streets.
"With the Decision of the Municipal Council No. 66 of June 25, 2024 'On the determination of parking administration areas and paid parking service fees on streets and squares in the territory of the Municipality of Durrës', and the Decision of the Municipal Council No. 113 of December 24, 2024 'On the system of local taxes and fees in the city of Durrës for 2025', the squares intended for paid parking on streets with the respective fees for parking spaces in squares have been approved", explained the Municipality of Durrës.
Although seven spaces designated for paid parking have been designated, their number remains very small compared to the daily flow of vehicles in Durrës, while the situation becomes even more chaotic during the summer season, when the number of vehicles increases significantly.
According to the Municipality of Durrës, the seven squares designated for paid parking are: the square near Bar Portofino, the squares on “Mars 91” street (two squares), the square under the Dajlan Bridge, the “Jorgji Ziu” square at the Mausoleum of the Martyrs, the square in the inner territory of the “Ramazan Njala” Sports Palace, the square near the industrial market on “Hysen Myshketa” street and the Volga square near the Durrës Port Authority.
Even though there are so-called Zone A and Zone B that include 16 city streets, the parking system in Durrës remains far from functional.
The Municipal Council has approved free parking, but only for residents in public spaces between buildings throughout the administrative territory of the Durrës municipality, including areas A and B.
The lack of parking spaces has opened the way for abuses: citizens have even had to pay in spaces where parking is free. On August 29, 2024, Durrës Police arrested two people who were taking money from citizens in a public parking lot near the stadium, which according to the Municipality was intended as a free space.
From the approved decisions of the Municipal Council, it turns out that there is no free dedicated parking space in the city, except for residents. The only exception is parking for up to 5 minutes in squares, which is more symbolic than a real solution. This means that every driver in Durrës must pay for parking, even though the spaces provided are insufficient.
Although citizens are faced with illegal parking and occupied public spaces every day, the Municipality states that the situation is under control and, in cooperation with the State Police, legal procedures are being followed against abusers.
"Regarding the issue of illegal parking, the Municipal Police monitors and controls the occupation of public spaces. When these spaces are found by entities or individuals, in cooperation with other institutions such as the State Police, we carry out legal procedures up to criminal prosecution of the entities or individuals," said the Municipality of Durrës.
Contrary to what the Municipality of Durres states about controlling illegal parking, citizens are still faced with open abuses. As Media Amfora has found on the ground, citizens are still confused about some designated parking spaces. On Currilave Road, near the Archaeological Museum, drivers had to pay in a parking lot that was previously public.
In addition to the fact that the Municipality of Durrës has failed to resolve the issue of public parking, the institution also lacks transparency regarding how paid parking is managed. Media Amfora requested information from the Municipality on the administration of parking over the last five years, including annual balance sheets and related revenues, but did not receive a response.
According to the decision of the Municipal Council, parking in the squares is free for the first 5 minutes, while after that the fee increases according to the length of stay: 100 lek for up to 2 hours, 200 lek for 2-5 hours, 300 lek for 5-8 hours, 400 lek for 8-12 hours and a maximum of 500 lek for a stay of up to 24 hours.
Street parking fees vary by season and area. From June 1 to September 30, paid parking is applied daily from 08:00 to 20:00, while from October 1 to May 31, parking is paid from 08:00 to 16:00, Monday to Friday only. The price is 100 lek/hour in Zone A and 40 lek/hour in Zone B.
The Municipal Council has approved since 20224 the annual fixed fee of 10,000 lek for residents' parking in zones A and B, for the right to park on streets designated for paid public parking within the residential unit where they are residents, for one vehicle only.
Regarding the parking lot under construction near the Train Station, one of the most problematic areas of the city, the Municipality of Durres does not seem to have taken an active role. The project was not designed or monitored by it, but is financed and administered by the Albanian Development Fund, while the Municipality is only the beneficiary of the investment.
"Parking at the Train Station is not a project designed by the Municipality of Durrës, the Directorate of Projects and Public Infrastructure and is not being followed as an investment by the Public Investment Tracking Sector. This project is financed by the Albanian Development Fund, which is also responsible for the smooth running of other administrative procedures, while the Municipality in this case is only the beneficiary of the investment," said the Municipality of the coastal city.
Until the Municipality drafts a realistic plan for parking management, the citizens of Durrës will continue to pay the price of urban chaos every day.
Editorial
