Parking shortages spark local initiatives in Rijeka and Zagreb

Residents in several Croatian cities are raising concerns over increasing parking shortages and traffic congestion. In Rijeka, the Luka local committee is addressing difficulties caused by the opening of the first pavilion of the city market. Joško Vitezica, president of the Luka local committee, has proposed a restricted access model for the market zone to prioritize residents, delivery vehicles, and persons with disabilities, while calling for increased supervision by traffic wardens.

In Zagreb, residents of the Voćarska, Srebrnjak, and Zelenog dol neighborhoods have launched a civic initiative to demand a systematic solution to long-standing parking issues. Following a lack of response from authorities regarding a requested traffic study, over 100 citizens signed a petition in three days. Residents report that narrow streets and steep terrain exacerbate the problem, leading to increased fines for parking on sidewalks. While citizens have proposed changing traffic regulations to one-way streets to create more spaces, city officials have stated that certain implementations are not feasible due to existing traffic flows.