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Comment by gonzalohm | Hacker News Reader

In which part of Europe is cheap to park?

Romania. Even its capital and the largest city - Bucharest - is still pretty cheap, sometimes even free like in this example on Google Street View https://maps.app.goo.gl/r6TFFtHbj2SELTqY9 If you're willing to take the risk which is pretty low, you can even park it on the sidewalk like here https://maps.app.goo.gl/y6DNVBdR2KvJsA917

But times are changing. Lanes and sidewalks, sometimes even green spaces, are being converted to parking spaces, so there's less spaces for freeloading. They're also becoming more and more expensive. The residential ones have also been hard to get and it will probably become even harder to get as more drivers will need them as the risk of getting a fine increases.

That's probably an exception. Most cities I know in Europe have crazy expensive parking and usually forbid cars from entering the city center. I would say EU cities are really hostile to cars

You should distinguish between residents and visitors. In Belgium, and I believe in many other European cities, street parking for residents is extremely cheap or free.

In Italy parking is free for residents. And street parking in the city centre is usually cheap (2 or 3 euros per hour).

Car culture in Italy is still too strong; but luckily many municipalities are working to decrease parking spots and build more cycle lanes.

Not Paris and especially not if you have an SUV: 225€ for six hours (sic). But unlike Tokyo the average narrow street in Paris is still lined with parked cars from end to end, so apparently the fees are still too low.

I suspect if you live there you can get a parking permit to park relatively cheaply. Where I used to live they introduced paid parking on my street, because people were going out the city center to park in residential areas instead of pay for a parking garage. A permit cost me €75 a year.

I don't park on the street anymore when I go to Paris by car. The private underground garages are cheaper (4-5 euro/hour).

Most of it? Parking is only expensive in dense downtown areas. Go out into the suburbs and on-street parking is almost always free.

True in England for sure. People in towns and suburbs, which is most of the country, think they have a god-given right to park on the street outside their house.

Even in urban London areas there is usually onstreet parking, it isn't free but it is quite cheap, you buy a permit from the council for ~£400 a year. On a square footage basis that is extremely cheap land rent!

One way of reducing the need for parking somewhat is to introduce a 20 miles per hour (32 kph) speed limit. A number of British cities and the entire country of Wales have done this. One guy has been fined repeatedly for doing 22mph. One more transgression and he loses his license. "Keeping your eye on the speedometer while watching the road is tricky". Presumably his car doesn't have a cruise control. Seems this speed limit is quite stressful and may encourage some to use public transport if they can.

https://www.gov.wales/introducing-default-20mph-speed-limits

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