In the Netherlands we have a nice way of solving problems: we simply make the thing that the government (or a municipality) doesn’t like very expensive. Just look at cars with high emissions or certain fines. And the municipality of The Hague is also happily participating. In the test you pay 50 euros to park in the center of The Hague and in Scheveningen.
The municipality has designated several streets where a fixed parking fee of 50 euros applies for a year. Whether you are there from eight to five or do a quick shopping in the supermarket: you always pay 50 euros. You would think that the new parking fees are there to push people onto the trains, but the problem lies elsewhere.
Residents vs entrepreneurs
The fixed rate should ensure that tourists no longer park in these streets. These places must remain free for Hagene residents with parking permits. ‘We have many empty parking garages, but those are not an option for residents. Residents only get a street permit. So this plan is to distribute things more fairly’, says Marieke de Jong of the residents’ association to Omroep West.
The shop owners in the center are not too happy with the new rates. Of course they want to serve their customers at their beck and call. “If necessary, park for fifteen or twenty minutes. Then you give people the opportunity to enter a store quickly, without the risk that people park there for a long time who have no business there,’ says Fleur Kruyt of liquor store Van Kleef. The municipality says that the test is being monitored in the meantime.
