Blue zone parking system to be ready before next year

THE blue zone parking system in Velez-Malaga and Torre del Mar could come into operation before 2015.

After 20 years of long delays and heated controversy, the system could finally be operational by the end of this year, according to Mayor Francisco Delgado.

“We will not believe it until we see it, but this is a priority for Torre del Mar” said ACET President Manuel Frutos talking to Spanish newspaper, Diario Sur. “Charging 46 cents for half an hour and 92 for an hour was too much, but we were able to reduce prices to 35 and 80 cents. However, we wanted drivers to be charged one cent per minute,” he added.

The rates were agreed upon by the council and local businesses, and drivers are to be charged 35 cents for half an hour and 80 cents for one hour and there is to be a special weekly rate of €5 for residents.

Anyone parking in a blue area and failing to pay will be fined €6, while vehicles exceeding the parking time by less than one hour are to be fined €3. Even though the scheme in Velez-Malaga looks nothing like the one requested by local shopkeepers, it involves 196 spaces in El Pozancon, Camino Viejo de Malaga (opposite Supermercado Mas and next to Iglesia San Antonio de Padua), Calle Canalejas, Calle Reñidero and Plaza Reyes Catolicos. In Torre del Mar there will be 160 spaces in Calle San Martin, Calle del Rio, Calle del Mar and Plaza de la Axarquia.

However, not everyone seems to be happy with the scheme, as many local residents would have reportedly preferred a system resembling the one put in place in Torrox, which is completely free.

The blue zone parking system in Velez-Malaga and Torre del Mar is to be operated by Amivel, the Velez-Malaga Association for Disabled People.