A reader wrote to us via Facebook:

[...] I am referring to the issue of parking for people who run businesses or work in the city centre but are not city residents. These people were completely omitted from the resolution. My husband runs a business [...], rents premises and, at the same time, is not a resident of the city but of Bolesławiec Municipality. According to the information currently available and what we learned at the service desk in the Galeria shopping centre, he is required to pay a PLN 240 monthly subscription. This is unthinkable!

She added:

We also have two female employees, and the charge to the city for just the three of us will amount to PLN 8,640 a year!!! We believe it is unthinkable that people who park every day because they work in the zone or rent premises should have to pay a subscription at this level.

Agnieszka Gergont, spokesperson for Bolesławiec City Hall:

In Bolesławiec’s Paid Parking Zone, zero-fee rates (PLN 0) apply to:

  1. residents of the paid parking zone, exclusively on the street where the zone resident is registered or resides, or on a directly adjacent street, on the basis of a resident parking identifier;
  2. holders of a parking card within the meaning of the “Road Traffic Act”, issued to a person with a disability, provided that the vehicle displaying the parking card is parked in a designated and appropriately marked space;
  3. drivers of marked municipal service vehicles and services associated with the city’s technical infrastructure while performing official duties; the vehicles of the above-mentioned services must be marked in accordance with the provisions of the “Road Traffic Act”;
  4. vehicles supplying commercial premises located along public roads covered by the paid parking zone, during deliveries, for up to 30 minutes;
  5. taxis in spaces designated for them or while waiting for a customer, but for no longer than 10 minutes;
  6. permanently marked vehicles of institutions providing transport for people with disabilities who have difficulty moving.

She adds:

For residents, monthly and annual subscription fees are available for parking motor vehicles in the paid parking zone:

  1. a Bolesławiec resident’s periodic subscription, for a user of a vehicle with a permissible maximum gross weight of up to 3.5 tonnes – for a period of 1 month – PLN 20; for one vehicle, the right to purchase and use it belongs to the vehicle owner who is registered in Bolesławiec or settles personal income tax indicating a place of residence in Bolesławiec;
  2. a Bolesławiec resident’s periodic subscription, for a user of a vehicle with a permissible maximum gross weight of up to 3.5 tonnes – for a period of 12 months – PLN 200; for one vehicle, the right to purchase and use it belongs to the vehicle owner who is registered in Bolesławiec or settles personal income tax indicating a place of residence in Bolesławiec.

A periodic subscription for any road user, who is a user of a vehicle with a permissible maximum gross weight of up to 3.5 tonnes – for a period of 1 month – PLN 240, for one vehicle. A periodic bearer subscription has been introduced for a user of a vehicle with a permissible maximum gross weight of up to 3.5 tonnes – for a period of 1 month – PLN 600.

She also stresses:

In Bolesławiec, the Paid Parking Zone is located in the historic part of the city. Visitors wishing to avoid fees (reduce costs) can park outside the zone [podkreślenia – A. Gergont]. It is worth recalling that the paid parking zone is located in an area characterised by a significant shortage of parking spaces. The zone was established to increase the turnover of parked motor vehicles, in particular to limit the accessibility of this area to motor vehicles and thereby give preference to free public transport and implement the local anti-smog policy.

The paid parking zone operates on business days, Monday to Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.