Prague 5 to create new Park and Ride lot

Prague 5 City Hall wants to create a Park and Ride (P+R) parking lot on Plzeňská Street. The district previously announced it had identified several potential locations. Overall, the city has some two dozen P+R lots with a capacity of roughly 3,000 cars. The lots are intended for people to have a place to leave their car so they can continue into the city center on public transportation.

The lot is already used by the city for storing cars that have been towed. Prague 5 Mayor Radek Klíma (TOP 09) said that the change in the status of the lot could take place almost immediately and talks have already taken place with the city, which owns the lot. When the change will happen and who will pay the costs of converting and operating it is not yet clear.

The addition of a P+R lot to Prague 5 is related to the introduction of parking zones in the district at the end of August, as people commuting to the city have fewer places to park. The city center has had parking zones since 1996, and they have been expanding to more of the city ever since both to relieve traffic problems and to generate money for the city districts from fees and fines.

Other places that Prague 5 considered for Park and Ride lots include next to Smíchovské nádraží, at an existing lot near a cemetery on Plzeňská Street, and at the intersection of Lamačova a K Barrandovu Streets.

Aside from parts of Prague 5, parking zones were also introduced in parts of Prague 6 at the end of August and in Prague 8 at the start of October. Prague 4 and 9 are also contemplating parking zones, but no date has been set.

In Prague 5, the zoning mostly affected the Smíchov area, which is adjacent to the city center. The zones create areas for residents to park, plus two types of areas for paid parking by people from outside the district.

Park and Ride lots are part of the Prague Integrated Transit (PID) system, and are located next to public transportation hubs. The busiest P+R lots are along the metro C line, such as Chodov and Letňany. The least used one is at Bechovice.