Zonal-hourly parking pilot program to launch in Tbilisi this summer
By Natalia Kochiashvili
Thursday, June 13
Kakha Kaladze, Tbilisi Mayor, talked about zonal parking, credits for taxi drivers, Vake park rehabilitation and other vital issues at the municipality government’s session on June 12.
Taxi drivers will be offered cheaper bank loans, Kaladze announced yesterday. Starting from July 1, taxi drivers will be divided into categories A and B and banks will provide low-cost loans to category A drivers.
Category B license holders will be permitted to work for taxi applications such as Taxify or Uber and serve Tbilisi population; they will not be allowed to take a passenger directly from the street. Kakha Kaladze said the taxi reform is one of the essential issues of the Tbilisi transport policy which aims to provide the population with flexible and comfortable services.
According to the mayor, the government has already held consultations with the banks, and they are said to make a statement regarding the offer to the drivers in upcoming days. The question of credits was raised by the taxi drivers, who encounter difficulties while taking loans since they have no fixed income.
The new taxi rules will take effect on October 1, 2019.
Kaladze also announced that starting from August 1, the zonal-hourly parking pilot program will be launched on Kote Abkhazi and Abanotubani streets.
As Mayor stated, the legal fighting has been issued, and the city council has already approved the tariffs. Next step is said to inform citizens: The information about the program will be provided via special booklets and info booths that will be placed on Kote Abkhazi Street.
Zonal-hourly parking will be entirely free for the vehicles owned by the local population as well as the drivers of electro-mobiles; people with disabilities and category A taxi drivers will have free parking at especially allocated places.
Paid parking will be divided into three - A, B, and C zones. In zone A parking fee will be 1 Lari per hour, in zone B - 2 Laris and zone C - 3 Laris. Payment of the parking fee will be possible for fast payment terminals, as well as website - parking.tbilisi.gov.ge or mobile application - Tbilisi Parking.
According to Kakha Kaladze, new buses of MAN have already been added to the Kote Abkhazian Street so that the locals can live without any problems.
Kaladze also spoke about engineering-geological and hydrogeological research that was conducted in the 200 ha area of the river Varaziskhevi valley, which includes N. Zhvania, Ghoghoberidze, Japaridze, and Marabda streets. Deputy Mayor Maia Bitadze announced that the result of the detailed studies confirmed the opinion of city hall – it’s not secure to start construction on that territory, especially on the right slope. Therefore, officials refuse to issue any construction permits on the above-mentioned area. According to Bitadze, additional preventive measures will be carried out on existing buildings, located on the right slope, and special rules will be taken against pebble-dash on the left slope.
Mayor also spoke about infrastructural projects of City Hall, as well as health and sports programs that envisage the needs of persons with disabilities maximally. According to him, all infrastructural projects that are carried out in the city, as well as new buses and vehicles are adapted to persons with disabilities.
Kaladze also mentioned that Tbilisi City Hall has a Parasport development center, where 192 sportsmen are trained in 15 types of sports and noted, their success on the international level. Mayor also addressed the legislative amendment, according to which the fine for parking in the sport for people with disabilities will increase from 10 to 50 Laris from July 13. Kaladze also said that Tbilisi City Hall has up to 10 programs which aim to provide maximum protection for people with disabilities and 7 927 000 Laris are allocated for those programs annually.
At the session, the mayor also thanked the Parliament of Georgia for approving the package of legislative amendments initiated by Tbilisi City Hall with the third hearing. In the first case of animal torture, which results into the death or mutilation, a new measure of imprisonment is determined, and in case of ill-treatment of the animal, which caused animals suffering, the administrative penalty increased to 500 GEL. According to Kaladze, these legislative amendments will prevent the facts of improper and ill-treatment of animals in the future.
At the session, it was also stated, that Construction of Vashlijvari overpass will be completed in about a week. Besides that, the tenders were announced on the arrangement of the park in Digomi forest, as well as Temka Khevi; the competition also started regarding Vake Park Rehabilitation Project and Rehabilitation of Park Fountains.
