The Hague raises parking fees fivefold, to avert drivers

It doesn’t matter whether you stop your car for a few minutes or a full day, this Dutch city says you should fork over 50 bucks

Scheveningen beach in the city of The Hague is probably the most popular in the Netherlands and as such tons of tourists head that way in the summer – and surprisingly, still a good number of them do it by car. Well, the local authorities would like to see beachgoers ditch the four-wheelers altogether with an announcement that they will start charging 50 euros as a parking fee near the beach and the downtown area.

The scheme is meant to start off as a pilot programme for one year, as a way to measure how this will affect traffic crowding in the designated areas. If successful, the plan is to expand it even further.

Toying with different ideas to choke off traffic

People who live in the most popular parts of The Hague have long complained that they cannot find a place for their own cars on peak tourist days, and the roads are blocked by traffic. Local businesses and residents will naturally be excluded from the fees, but for anyone else the message goes something like: “Better use an alternative mode of transportation to the beach”.

In a way, this may come as a surprise but even what is considered one of the most bike-friendly countries in the world, still has enough issues with motorized traffic.

Parking fees in the Netherlands have gone up by nearly 30% since 2018. In Amsterdam, the average parking fee is 7.50 euros per hour, and in Utrecht, it is 6.64. And in The Hague, last year, they went from 3.50 to 10 euros per hour. Still, apparently, the local government has decided to chart a completely new territory sanction-wise and go ballistic with the announced increase.

Other measures to limit car traffic have also been introduced in the seaside city. Among them: a gradual reduction of parking spaces in the central parts, the entry of cars being prohibited in other areas, and the speed of movement in a large part of the city will be reduced to 30 km/h.