More car parks in the works for congested city
The huge shortage of parking spaces in a city with one car for every four inhabitants has prompted some grandiloquent announcements on constructing car parks, mainly since 1990. But the countless proposals made have ended up gathering dust in YPEHODE’s drawers. However, a law which was passed last year (which dealt largely with Olympic Games issues) allowed local authorities to carry out surveys for, and construct, underground car parks. Thessaloniki’s municipalities proposed a total of 32 car parks (amounting to 11,000 parking spaces). Four municipalities alone have advanced their projects, since the forthcoming municipal elections have put a damper on local authorities’ ambitions. The Central Macedonia Region, which is acting in concert with the municipalities over this issue, sounded an optimistic note and said the car parks will be built within the next five years. Two, at the Ippocrateio and Antheon Street, will be put up for tender by YPEHODE next month.
