Report on the activities developed in "Citizen Participation Week", 21-27
September 2009
Public debate on the regulation of parking in Brasov City
Public debate took place on September 23 in the Chamber of Brasov City Council. The
event was organized within Citizen Participation Week held between 21 to 27 September 2009. In
Brasov, organized by the Pro
Democracy Association Brasov
Branch in partnership with the
Association
for
Community
Partnership Brasov. Attended the
public debate representatives of
local media, administrators and
presidents
of
owners
associations, representatives of
the Municipality of Brasov City
and other interested citizens to
parking issue in Brasov City,
totally 25 people.
In Brasov, parking spaces were
often bone of contention among
citizens. In 1989, the city had
recorded 25,000 cars, a car to every 15 people, and in 2009, there were about 132,000 cars,
meaning a car to every 2 people. The downtown area there is a proportion of one car to one
resident.
The point of debate was triggered by several issues reported by the citizens from Brasov
city on parking regulations. These issues include:
- Lack of methods of punishment for association of owners in the event that the auction was
not announced;
- Space for parking auctioned “for the whole life”?;
- Lack of provisions for challenging an auction and the conditions under which an auction
may be challenged;
- Which is the information method of those who remained free of space for parking and they
want to bid a place for their cars in the neighborhood?;
- Lack of parking for visitors or interventions (Romtelecom, RDS, water, gas etc.);
- Poor information regarding the authorities that have responsibility to lift cars parked
illegally;
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- In the event that the block of flats on which the auction took place, a person who has a car
is left, which are the possibilities for a person to obtain such a space, if there are not parking in the
neighborhood compared to a person who has 2 parking spaces?;
- Why not come with any other car on the parking lot that I bid?;
- The possibility of sharing parking spaces per one flat.
Was related that parking spaces
are a necessity and Mr. Miklos Gantz,
Deputy Mayor, said that 95% of citizens
from Brasov city are happy for what
mayoralty has made in Brasov concerning
parking. There are several areas that still
have not assigned parking spaces and
this will be done in the next period.
Inspectors are responsible of
displaying the organizational details of
auctions and the secondary measure also
involved Association for Owners.
On one of the items proposed on the list
of
discussion
by
the
organizing
associations, namely on "parking for life"
by
automatically
extending
the
subscription after one year, subscription is up almost for "life" excluding the possibility that others
who not benefit by a parking space can auction. Regarding this, Ms. Gantz said that all citizens
from Brasov will benefit residence parking by rearranging other places. If the neighbors’ area is
parking also a legal person, shall review the situation.
Regarding the situation of disabled people they benefit of free and priority parking. If
citizens signal irregularities in terms of car parking, they are required to address to the Community
Police, the authority entrusted with this type of powers.
Those who have already arranged a parking space on its own initiative, as required by law,
can not apply for residence parking. Each of the representatives of owners associations have
raised issues that were encountered in their residential area and local authority representatives
have attempted to provide solutions to them.
Furthermore, citizens came up with proposals for representatives of local public authority
on the parking regulations in Brasov city. One of them referred to the stops mounted on each
parking space. For an easier access to many vehicles on parking spaces, has been suggested
that these devices to be removed only after a specific time, during which parking is free in labor
days. This measure works successfully in many European cities.
The meeting ended after an hour and a half, during which all those interested were able to
speak, more than that, to find solutions to their problems and on the other hand, public officials to
identify some deficiencies on which should take measures.
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Following this debate, Citizens Advice Bureau from Brasov, a Department of the
Association for Community Partnership Brasov, will submit proposals for amending the Regulation
on the allocation of parking to the Brasov City Council, to support the citizens and especially, to
remove points interpretations of the legislative act under consideration.
„Choose the way to spend public money!”
On 22 September 2009, in Citizen
Participation Week, Pro Democracy Association
Brasov in partnership with Community Partnership
Association Brasov organized an action in Piata
Sfatului Brasov, where all interested citizens could
leave a message for the local public authorities.
At the tent placed by the 2 associations were
posted the public debts of: Brasov City, Fagaras,
Rupea, Predeal, Sacele, Ghimbav, Codlea, Victoria
and Rasnov.
The Association for Community Partnership
Brasov performed a research between August –
September 2009 having as a purpose to identify the
level of public debts and the list of investments
proposed to be done this year by the 10 Town Halls in Brasov County.
In order to emphasize their level, requests for information on L 544/2001 regarding free
access of public interest were sent.
The event had the support of volunteers and local media.
The citizens had the opportunity to express their opinion on the main problems they have
and how to spend public money.
Few of the problems identified by the citizens refer to the local authority’s lack of
transparency and the lack of communication between local authorities and citizens.
Also, the lack of interest in keeping city values,
especially in the historic center of Brasov, is another
citizen discontent.
Finally, those who had a message to send to
local authorities mentioned that they are discontent
about building so many revolving senses and the
ongoing problem of parking in the city.
The passersby choose where to spend public
money: education, sewerage, roads, cubic stone, in
the historic center, sanitary system, subterranean
passages with rolling steps for people with disabilities,
etc. Citizen’s opinions were centralized and will be
sent to local public authorities.
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