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Parking in Madrid will be more difficult at night and on Sundays in several neighbourhoods
Madrid City Council is extending parking-meter hours in congested areas. Free parking at night or on public holidays will cease to be commonplace in some neighbourhoods. The change affects residents and visitors and changes the routine of many people in Madrid.
On-street parking in Madrid is about to change its usual rhythm. From this month, parking meters may also operate at night and on Sundays in neighbourhoods where finding a space has become an almost impossible mission. The measure will not apply throughout the city, but it will apply in areas where traffic pressure and commercial, cultural or leisure activity fill the streets with cars at all hours.
Until now, the Servicio de Estacionamiento Regulado (SER) had clear hours: Monday to Friday, from 9:00 to 21:00; Saturdays, until 15:00; Sundays and public holidays, free. Under the new Ordenanza de Movilidad Sostenible, the City Council reserves the option of extending these hours in neighbourhoods with high demand, always backed by technical reports and only while parking problems persist.
The aim is clear: to make life easier for residents in saturated areas and reduce traffic from people who search unsuccessfully for parking. Charging for parking at times that were previously free is intended to discourage private-car use during peak periods and encourage public transport, as well as increase vehicle turnover.
SER will also reach 22 neighbourhoods, 17 of them new, in seven districts. For the first time, Puente de Vallecas and Moratalaz will have regulated zones. The number of controlled spaces will rise from around 181,500 to almost 259,000, with a majority of green parking spaces reserved for residents.
The City Council will begin studying in March which neighbourhoods will have these new hours, focusing on areas where demand spikes at night and at weekends. Areas such as Centro, Salamanca, Chamberí, Retiro, Arganzuela and the surroundings of large stadiums or cultural venues are under consideration. Each extension will require technical reports and, in many cases, neighbourhood consultations or agreements in the Juntas de Distrito, following the model of recent years.
Madrid is already beginning to move in that direction. The city is once again adjusting its rhythm, and those who park on the street will notice the change in their routines, especially in the liveliest and busiest neighbourhoods.
SER, in place in Madrid for decades, has adapted to changes in the city. What began as a solution for the centre has spread to outlying neighbourhoods and areas undergoing transformation. Its operation, based on turnover and priority for residents, reflects the evolution of urban mobility and the need to balance the use of public space in a city that never stops reinventing itself.