“Tbilisi City Hall will arrange underground parking lot near Tbilisi Concert Hall”, - Viktor Tsilosani, Head of Municipal Transport Department at Tbilisi City Hall declared.
According to Tsilosani, the project would be implemented after the rehabilitation of Melikishvili avenue.
As Victor Tsilosani said, 10 locations were offered for the business to arrange parking lots and the City Hall was ready to deliver these areas for free to the private sector, but due to the fact that parking was very cheap in Georgia, the business did not express interest.
According to Viktor Tsilosani, Tbilisi City Hall would not arrange underground parking lots at all locations, but they were ready to build underground parking lot near Tbilisi Concert Hall in accordance with the rehabilitation project of Melikishvili avenue.
Viktor Tsilosani noted as parking encourages travel by private car, so the City Hall did not limit the number of parking lots, but neither increased.
“We want to optimize the parking lots. The mayor has announced that underground parking will be done near the Philharmonic Hall when the rehabilitation of Melikishvili Avenue starts. We will continue these types of events at other locations as well. As for the using of urban spaces for parking lots, we have never done it and do not plant to do it in the future," Tsilosani said.
As for the issue, what had changed since City Park ceased to operate in the city, Tsilosani said that there was a fundamental difference between that company and the current system.
“City Park fined citizens unfairly, the fines were transferred to the company and, consequently, the operator's goal was to fine as many people as possible. The business model was wrong. City Park acted unfaithfully. Hundreds and thousands of fines were abolished by the court. There were fines for which the citizens did not appeal the court and they had to pay them. So, to compare the City Park model with the current model is incorrect," said Victor Tsilosani.
