Bulgaria’s Black Sea city Varna introducing ‘Blue Zone’ paid parking system in May 2018

Motorists in Bulgaria’s largest Black Sea city Varna will pay one lev (about 51 euro cents) an hour to park in the “blue zone” paid parking area in the centre of the city, to be introduced in May 2018, the municipal council has decided.

For several years, the search for a parking space in the congested streets of Varna has been increasingly difficult during the summer season as the city is crowded with tourists.

In introducing a “blue zone” paid parking system, Varna, Bulgaria’s third-largest city, is following the lead of other large cities in Bulgaria such as Sofia and Plovdiv.

There will be a residents’ parking system, with those with residential addresses within the zone paying five leva a month or 55 leva a year for a primary car, and 10 leva a month or 110 leva a year for a second car.

Fees for parking for businesses in the centre of Varna will be 350 leva a month and 3850 a year.

For streets and squares outside the “blue zone”, businesses will pay 120 leva a month and 1320 leva a year.

Payment for parking in the blue zone may be made in cash at retail outlets and restaurants in the zone, via text message and – in an innovation not used in other cities in Bulgaria – via a “virtual parking meter” app.

Some parking places will be demarcated for sole use by police cars, the municipality, and people with disabilities.

The precise area to be covered by the “blue zone” will be announced officially by the municipality at a later stage. The municipality plans a public information campaign about the new “blue zone” system.

The “blue zone” paid parking system will apply from Mondays to Fridays from 9am to 7pm. At weekends and on official public holidays, parking will be free of charge.

Meanwhile, there are plans to have charging stations for electric cars at 11 places in the city. These 11 places will include the municipal parking areas at Slaveykov Square, Alexander Dyakovich Square, Musala Square and the the parking area in front of the regional directorate of the Interior Ministry in San Stefano Street.

(Photo: Vladislav Bezrukov)

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