New! Illegal parking of cars on Ukrainian plates in Gdańsk

wbijamszpile.pl 9 months ago

The outbreak of the war in Ukraine in February 2022 caused an increase in the number of refugees in Poland. 1 of the challenges facing Polish cities is the issue of parking vehicles on Ukrainian registration plates in the areas of paid parking. In Gdańsk the number of illegally parked cars on Ukrainian numbers increased significantly.

The Gdańsk Road and Green Board (GZDiZ) has provided detailed data on this problem, and our article brings closer to how statistic have developed over fresh years. We point out that the intent of this article is not to attack this group, but to inform the public about the real situation, which is peculiarly crucial at a time erstwhile another local portals are reluctant to address this issue, which we believe is simply a mention to the unnecessary building of stereotypes.

Increase in additional charges for vehicles on Ukrainian plates

According to data from the Gdańsk Road and Green Board, there is simply a clear increase in the number of additional charges issued for vehicles on Ukrainian registration plates.

Let's take a look at this:

2020: 19 charges, of which 8 were paid, and 1 were found to be outstanding.
2021: 68 charges, of which 28 were paid and 2 were found to be outstanding.
2022: 1877 paid, 794 paid, and 60 found to be outstanding.
2023: 1219 paid fees, 505 paid, and 50 found to be outstanding.

This drastic increase since 2022 has been associated with the influx of refugees after outbreak of war in Ukraine. Although we must not forget that many Ukrainian citizens are paying their fees conscientiously, the expanding number of illegal parking is becoming a challenge for local authorities.

Comparing additional fees in Gdańsk – the scale of the problem

For a better knowing of the problem, it is worth comparing these figures with the full number of additional charges issued for all vehicles in the Pay Parking region in Gdańsk:

2020: 34 399 charges,
2021: 52 666 fees,
2022: 79 258 fees,
2023: 71 973 billed.

A crucial increase in the number of fees issued in 2022, which remained advanced in 2023, is noticeable. The number of charges for vehicles with Ukrainian plates represented a tiny but crucial percent in the overall number of cases.

So the number of cars on Ukrainian plates is only 1-2 percent of the total.

Read more: New areas of paid parking in Gdańsk from 1 October

Social context. Refugees and the challenges of urban infrastructure

The outbreak of war in Ukraine made Gdańsk, like many another Polish cities, a place of refuge for thousands of refugees. With the influx of fresh residents, many challenges have arisen, including urban infrastructure management. Difficulties in complying with parking regulations may arise from the deficiency of awareness of fresh visitors about local rules or limited availability of information in Ukrainian.

On the 1 hand, it is crucial to show knowing for those who fled the war and were in a fresh country. On the another hand, residents of Gdańsk have the right to fair information about the usage of urban infrastructure, including pay parking zones by vehicles on Ukrainian plates.