In a press release issued on 23rd October, the Municipality of Chania has given a positive assessment of the first few months of operation of the open air peripheral car park at Kladissos, at the western approach to the city. According to statistics produced by the Municipality in collaboration with the urban KTEL bus service, more than 500 cars are using the park daily. In less than four months of operation, the press release notes, the car park has provided relief both to the city and to the thousands of citizens and visitors who have been able to park their vehicles and travel free on one of the 48 trips scheduled daily in one of the Municipality’s five electric buses. There are a total of 120 spaces in the car park, of which five are reserved for disabled drivers.
In a written statement, the mayor of Chania Panagiotis Simandirakis describes it as a significant step towards solving the city’s traffic problems. “The substantial response demonstrates how necessary the peripheral car parks are and gives us the impetus to proceed with new initiatives,” he says. “The expansion of peripheral car parks is a basic part of the solution to traffic issues and we are already planning our next moves, so as to make moving around the city easier and more comfortable for everyone.”
Mr Simandirakis adds that in the next few weeks “a packet of proposals to improve traffic conditions will be put before the Municipal Council, including the creation of a second peripheral car park on the site of the former Markopoulou barracks, which will reinforce the Municipality’s infrastructure and help to reduce congestion in the city centre.”
The public are reminded that the Municipality’s electric buses run every 20 minutes from Monday to Saturday, Sundays and public holidays excepted. Starting from the Kladissos car park, the route runs north-east up Kissamou with one stop at Agios Nektarios – Monument to the Mother of Asia Minor, then turns east on Kydonias, stopping at the KTEL bus station before looping round past the Agora and heading back towards Kladissos, with one stop at the Public electronics store on Hatzimichali Giannari and another at the Iconostasi stop on Kissamou.
The buses are neat and modern in design and have seats for 15 people, plus two for the disabled, mothers with baby carriages, etc.
In the interests of consumer research, we made the trip this week and found it a trouble-free way of getting into town. Arriving at the car park a little after midday, we had to wait 10 minutes for the bus to leave, which since they run every 20 minutes could count as an average for the route. The buses have seating for 15 passengers plus two seats for the disabled, mothers with baby carriages, etc, and there is ample standing room. They are typical urban transport, with hard seats and stiff suspension, and progress is accompanied by a loud whining from the electric transmission plus crashes and bangs as the vehicle negotiates Chania’s inadequate road surfaces.
The trip to the KTEL stop on Kydonias took 13 minutes in midday traffic, while the return trip from the Public stop on Hatzimichali Giannari took about 8 minutes. If one adds in the extra time which would be needed for finding parking in central Chania, using the bus scarcely takes longer than driving all the way in, and it certainly reduces the stress of finding one’s way around the centre. The only possible downside is that waiting for up to 20 minutes at the Public stop on Hatzimichali Giannari – a narrow and traffic-clogged street – would be something of a trial, especially in bad weather. The pavement is narrow and there is no room for a bus shelter, though the adjacent café has an awning which overhangs the pavement and has installed some seats which are used by those waiting for the bus.
Fortunately the buses are easily distinguishable from the others by their size and design, since the display at the front somewhat misleadingly says says “Chania Green Route” without any mention of the car park – no doubt intending to be inclusive, since non-driver passengers can also use the route. We look forward to the opening of other peripheral car parks, since at least four were originally planned.
Award for the IPark Chania app
For those who still need to park in the city centre, the Municipality’s IPark Chania app provides a convenient and hassle-free way of paying for the use of controlled parking spaces. One of its major advantages is that the whole of the city is treated as one area and one can move from one site to another within the time which has been purchased. The maximum period which can be paid for is four consecutive hours, but if one has paid for less one can top it up to the maximum. Reopening the app after paying for parking will give a read-out of the time remaining, and in addition a message is sent to a registered email address warning of the imminent expiry of the purchased period.
The IPark Chania app, available from Google Play and the App Store, is a convenient way of paying for parking in Chania.
The app’s usefulness was recognised at the the Smart Cities Expo held at the Zappeion Mansion in Athens from 16th to 17th October, where it received an award which was accepted on behalf of the Municipality by Tasos Aloglou, deputy mayor for Finance and Digital Governance. Receiving the award, Mr Aloglou said: “The Municipality of Chania has been given an award for the IPark Chania app as an example of good practice for local government, while it is a significant recognition of our efforts and our vision as a local authority together with our Municipality’s service staff.” He also emphasised that “the process both of paying for parking and issuing tickets is fully automated, freeing valuable time for the Municipality’s service staff but also for the users, who have in their hands an app which is both easy and quick to use.”
In its two years of operation, the IPark Chania app has brought the Municipality €1.4 million in income, while more than 800,000 electronic tickets have been issued and more than 60,000 users have installed the app on their mobile phones.
(www.chania.gr)
The app is available for download from Google Play at:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.chania.ipark&hl=en
and from the Apple App Store at:
https://apps.apple.com/gr/app/i-park-chania/id1626987062
Although the app has some poor reviews on both sites, we have found the Android version fairly foolproof to use in practice. Instructions in English on the use of the app, and on alternative ways of paying for parking, including a list of sales points where those who cannot use the app can purchase parking tickets, can be found on the Chania.gr website here:
https://www.chania.gr/files/58/45553/info_en.pdf