“The measure is a very good one, but an hour and twenty minutes is a bit short…” says Brigitte, 47 years old, an executive assistant. The measure concerns parking lots near major shopping areas around the city: Promenade des Arts, Marshall, Palmeira, Corvesy, Méditerranée, Palais Massena, and Bosquets. Are the residents of Nice being a tad demanding? This sentiment is widespread within the azure city; Philippe, 46 years old, company manager, says: “It’s an interesting idea. It could help revive the shops and restaurants of the old town. But I think it’s a bit unrealistic. To go shopping or have dinner at a restaurant, one hour and twenty minutes is totally impossible…”
Beyond this new, rather attractive measure, a fundamental problem remains and also worries the people of Nice: the price of parking after the free time limit. Sébastien, 49 years old, commercial executive, says: “I use these parking lots quite regularly; it’s undoubtedly a good idea but doesn’t concern people who work in the city center like me. If you exceed the time limit, you pay exactly the same price as before. A good idea would have been to create parking outside the city and further develop public transport, like in Paris or Lyon. Moreover, I don’t think this initiative would attract more people to the city parking lots…”
The measure is original and will surely please the drivers of Nice; time will tell the outcome.
