The Social Democrats and Socialist People’s Party want to scrap free parking on Sundays, report TV2 Cosmopol.
Their argument for doing so is that it will reduce CO2 emissions because people will take trains instead of cars and then the metro to reach the city center on Sundays.
The parking fee will only apply to those who are not residents of Copenhagen.
– Right now you can get to Copenhagen for free by car on Sundays, but it still costs money to take the metro, says Astrid Aller from SF.
“In this way, we are currently creating an economic incentive to take the car instead of public transport, and that is stupid, because it is bad for the air quality and bad for the climate.”
Wait a minute
These proposals have been met with sharp criticism from the public as well as political figures.
“We think it’s a really bad idea,” says Children and Youth Mayor Jakob Nรฆsager to TV2 Kosmopol.
He went on to explain that the parking charge will have negative consequences for the elderly who want to visit their grandchildren in the city at the weekend.
Electric dreams
In addition, Nรฆsager pointed out that the rapid replacement of petrol and diesel cars with electric cars nullifies Aller’s argument that free Sunday parking damages the environment.
“We believe that in a short time, a large part of Copenhagen’s cars will have been replaced with electric cars, so the reduction of CO2 emissions will only be for a limited period.
“And by the way, it is only legal to introduce paid parking if it has an impact on traffic, so the CO2 argument is not a valid legal argument,” says Jakob Nรฆsager.
Source: The Nordic Page
