On June 29, the City Executive Council approved a proposal for changes to parking charges in Reykjavík City. The proposal is twofold: a change to the fee schedule and a change to charging time-frames. Its goal is primarily to provide more residents access to parking in the city center, as the tariff facilitates a steady turnover of vehicles in the area.
- In tariff zone P1, the fee will rise to ISK 600 per hour, up from the current ISK 430 per hour. Parking there will now only be allowed for three consecutive hours.
- For zones P1 and P2, the charging period will be extended until 9pm, both on weekdays and Saturdays.
- Additionally, in zones P1 and P2, a charge will be introduced between 10am and 9pm on Sundays.
- There won't be a fee in zone P3 on Saturdays.
Other than these changes, the current fee schedule and charging periods will remain in place.
Disabled parking permit holders can park free of charge in any parking space, whether it's reserved for disabled people or not, and the time limit in zone P1 doesn't apply to them.
Supporting service providers, guests, and residents
Parking fees in Reykjavík aim to fulfill the goals of the Reykjavík Municipal Plan and promote diverse parking use on municipal land by controlling parking demand, thus supporting service providers, guests, and residents. The proposal is based on counts carried out in the fall of 2022 in accordance with rules of procedure, and two procedural rules are followed when assessing the need for changes in charges. One concerns fee schedule changes and the other for introducing new tariff zones. The intention is to ensure transparent and open procedures when defining new tariff zones for parking on Reykjavík's municipal land.
Promoting more efficient use of parking garages
High and steady utilization in most tariff zones
The results of the counts, as before, show high and steady utilization of parking spaces in most tariff zones, including heavy use outside the charging period. Several streets within zone P1 are still seeing over 85% utilization, with the findings sparking changes to the fee schedule to better manage parking demand, in line with the aforementioned rules of procedure. The approved proposal, therefore, involves raising the fee schedule in zone P1 to ISK 600 and introducing a maximum time limit there, setting an upper limit on how long a vehicle can park in zone P1.
The results of the current count, as well as those from 2019 and 2021, indicate that street parking in zones P1 and P2 is generally full in the evenings, while there's ample parking available in the city's parking garages. Utilization was counted at the end of the chargeable period at 6pm and again at 8pm, with the count showing that utilization increased as the evening wore on. In line with the findings, the proposal includes an extension of the charging period until 9pm in zones P1 and P2.
This involves areas with the highest concentration of businesses open in the evenings, and streets near parking garages. With the introduction of charges, it's more likely that drivers will choose to park in the city's garages and it's more probable that residents will find parking near their homes.
Parking spaces utilized more on Sundays than Saturdays
Parking space utilization on weekends has been counted in recent years, focusing on areas near shops and services. The findings have consistently shown that parking space utilization is always higher on Sundays than Saturdays in all counted areas and above benchmark levels according to the rules of procedure. The proposal, therefore, involves introducing charges on Sundays. The introduction of charges supports better management of parking usage, which in turn promotes better utilization of parking garages, as previously explained, and increases the likelihood of residents finding parking near their homes. Alongside these changes, the proposal includes the elimination of charges in zone P3 on Saturdays, following the count findings.
The changes will come into effect after the proposal is advertised in the Official Gazette and equipment and signage has been updated. This is expected to happen this year.
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