The municipality’s latest new initiative attempts to manage the number of cars parking and driving in the city centre, as well as increasing revenues. The city police agreed that the monitoring system would operate in test mode in the first weeks after its introduction on September 1st. However, from next Monday, drivers who don’t comply with the new rules will have to start paying fines. Photo credit: @BrnoDaily.

Brno, Sep 27 (BD) –The new residential system classifies parking in Brno into three categories: city centre residents, commercial users, and visitors. In order to obtain the status of a ‘resident’ or ‘commercial user’, applicants will have to visit the office at Zvonařka or request an electronic account.

The residential parking system came into effect on September 1st this year, applying new rules to the city centre only. From November 1st, the system will spread to three additional districts north of the city centre as shown on the map below.

Source: MMB.

September 1, 2018: The rules apply to the city centre circumscribed by Husová, Moravské náměstí, Koliště, and Úzká.

November 1, 2018: Three additional districts will be added, bound by Údolní, Úvoz, Kotlářská, Pionýrská, Drobného, Milady Horákové

In other areas of the city, the parking system remains as before for the time being.

The blue area is where only residents (Czech: “rezidenti”) and commercial users with their place of business in that area (Czech: “abonenti”) can drive and/or park. The red area is where visitors can also park, although there will be changes as to when and for how much.

In areas with the new parking system, parking spots are marked blue. Every car park also has a vertical sign with all the information you need: if there are blue and green stripes, only cars with residential/commercial permits can park. If there is also an orange stripe (as shown in the picture) visitors can park too. The sign also states the days for which these rules apply (“Po-Ne” means from Monday to Sunday, i.e. seven days a week; or “Po-Pá” means Monday to Friday), as well as hours (for example “8-18 hod”, which means 8 am to 6 pm. On the picture, the “8-6 hod” means from 8 am throughout the whole day to 6 am, i.e. 6-8 am the parking space is available for anyone).

Photo credit: BEC.

Residents

If you are a foreigner with a temporary or long-term residence permit with a registered address in an area that will be affected by the new system, you can now obtain a residential parking permit allowing you to park in the district of your residence, as well as the neighbouring districts.

For example, if you live in the Veveří area and obtain a parking permit for Veveří, you can also park in the Údolní area. However, the centre is an exception to this rule: if you have a parking permit for Veveří, you cannot park or drive in the city centre. Only people who live in the city centre can obtain a permit for the centre and park there. With the same permit, they can also park in any neighbouring areas.

The permit costs 600 CZK for your first car, 15,000 CZK for your second, and 30,000 CZK for any additional cars. You can find information on how to register here: parkovanivbrne.cz. If you have a permanent residence card with a registered address in an area that will be affected by the new system, all of the above applies. In addition to your residential parking permit, you can also obtain 100 “visiting hours”, that you can allocate to any other car (such as visiting family, or a removal van).

If your address is not printed on your residence permit, you can only drive and park as a visitor. It is not enough to have a lease agreement for an apartment in the centre: you need to have it specified on your permanent/temporary/long-term residence card issued by the Immigration office.

Forget driving in the centre unless…

If you cannot obtain a residential parking permit for the city centre, you cannot drive into the centre. The Municipality is installing cameras at every entranceway, and all unregistered cars will be heavily fined.

You can still park as a visitor in the adjacent streets – they are marked red on the map above, and painted red along the parking spaces. Parking for up to 30 minutes is free; if you stay longer you can pay at the machines or through a mobile application. There are many car parks around the city centre: you can find a complete list here.

You can also ask for an exceptional permit, for example when you are moving flats. Cars registered as carsharing vehicles will also have a special permit for the centre, which could be a solution if you are very much in need of a car but you are not a resident.

Special permit for businesses…

Not only residents and commercial users will receive parking permits for the centre. If you call the emergency services, they will still be able to come, as will taxi drivers. The Czech post office, as well as some other delivery services, will also have a special permit.

Other services, such as food or grocery deliveries, will also hopefully negotiate their own permits. Check with your favourite service when ordering if they can deliver to your address in the city centre.

If not, you can still grant them a one-time entry for 60 minutes through an online system. However, you have to be a registered resident of the city centre (i.e. you need to have a permanent residence in the city centre).

You can find more information on this webpage: parkovanivbrne.cz. So far, it is available only in Czech and you will need to use Google Translate. The municipality has also published this leaflet in English, although some information is simplified. You can download the PDF from here.

With a new season, Brno Expat Centre (BEC) brings you a new seminar topic – all about getting around in Brno, including the topic of the residential parking. The seminar takes place on Monday, October 29, from 5.30 pm at the Jiří Mahen City Library, Kobližná 4. Find more info on BEC website.

Brno Expat Centre Clues is a series of practical articles dealing with various aspects of life in Brno. Written in co-operation with Brno Daily by Brno Expat Centre consultants, a new article is published every Thursday.

Get the news first! Subscribe to our daily newsletter here. Top stories of the day in your mailbox every morning.