Parking charges may be introduced in Marigot

The zone bleue of Marigot, which was officially introduced in June 2016, only lasted two months. By the end of July, the Collectivité had suspended the zone bleue, or at least its ticketing, because of refurbishment works carried out downtown on the waste water and sanitation network. The ticketing, assumed by the territorial police, was mainly responsible for the system’s success in its first weeks.

Four months later, once the works were over, the blue paint had disappeared and the zone bleue was no longer respected. The signposting, however, is still in place. Due to the imminent elections, there was little incentive to punish the potential electors who did not respect the rules, not even those guilty of parking infringement.

The free shuttle service between Galisbay parking and the market roundabout has not been a success among car drivers neither; they prefer to look for a parking space downtown.

Yet the question remains: are the rules of the zone bleue still enforced? In theory, this answer is yes. In theory, you should still put your disk on the dashboard of your vehicle, to indicate your arrival time. In theory, the territorial police must ticket car drivers who do not use the disk correctly.

In light of this fiasco, the new majority has started to consider introducing parking charges. «The relevant departments have been asked to examine how to charge certain parking places, and how to install parking meters», has declared the president Daniel Gibbs, during a press conference held on Thursday. He has also pointed out that the mayor had taken local decrees, back in the days of the Collectivité. Studies will be carried out in September.

The previous majority had not adopted the parking meter system, as it was weary that criminals seeking to steal the money they contain would vandalize the machines.

Back in 2011, studies had been requested by the majority of the time, to examine various parking models and parking management systems (Galisbay and Marina Royale).