New regulations in the historical centre of Ronda, which began yesterday, mean that the whole area is now a ‘no parking’, or more strictly speaking a ‘no free parking’ zone.
There are areas allocated for residents of streets in the centre, otherwise it is the public parking facility El Castillo. There are beneficial rates in El Castillo for residents and people working in the city centre of €0.64 per day and they can enter and exit the facility as many times as they deem necessary.
The parking facility now has a selective access system and residents and workers in the centre will need a card to make use of the reduced rates. Other users, mostly those arriving from outside the city and tourists, will pay a considerably higher parking fee.
Even Councillors, who were previously entitled to free parking in a reserved area, will now have to pay to park their vehicles.
The old parking signs have been removed and each street now has just one sign at the entrance, with an explanation in English for the tourists, explaining the new regulations.
The Local Police will not start fining people for illegal parking until Monday.
The system has long been proposed by various municipal governments but never implemented in full. One of the main reasons given for the system is to improve the image of the centre.
So, on a street where residents are allowed to park, what ‘image’ difference is there between a street full of cars where the owners have had to pay and a street full of cars where the owners have not had to pay?