The paid parking zone in Limoges was extended on July 1. From now on, to park near the SNCF station of Bénédictins, that of Charentes as well as in the Carnot-Marceau district and that of Coutures, you will have to pay. The decision was voted on by the City Council on April 7, which is not to everyone’s taste.
Residents and traders feel that they do not understand this measure, which risks reducing attendance in the neighborhood and shops. Thierry is the owner of a hotel, a bar and a tobacconist opposite the Bénédictins station and he is already observing a change in the habits of his customers: “When it was free, customers stopped longer in my businesses. Now that it’s paid, some don’t come anymore“, another impact for Thierrythe reservation rate which falls “having free places in the street to park is a criterion for customers. I have already had reservation cancellations and customers who tell me that they will go elsewhere since we no longer have this service. And then, I have to change the whole site because we had mentioned free parking in our ads“.
Mila is part of the citizen collective of the Gare des Bénédictins district which launched the petition. According to her, the town hall failed to convince them of the benefits of such a measure: “We are losing more than 1,400 free spaces. Can anyone show us that the introduction of paid parking has a positive impact on a neighborhood? It is an additional financial cost for residents who sometimes also have paid parking near their work. This is a precarious measure for the neighborhood as the cost of living increases”. For employees also paid parking goes badly, it ist an additional subscription to take out: €42 per month.
Already close to 400 signatures were collected on all the petitions of the collective of the Gare des Bénédictins district, not counting those to be found in angry shops that have not yet been counted.