Plzeň opened a three-story parking garage Atom in the largest housing estate for 115 million CZK

Plzeň – Plzeň has opened a three-story parking garage Atom in the largest housing estate of Lochotín. The facility, costing 115 million crowns including VAT, has a capacity of 173 cars. The parking garage, located on the former ground parking lot near the department store on Sokolovská Street, will serve drivers starting Wednesday. The upper level will offer 63 free spots as a replacement for the original free parking area, said Mayor Roman Zarzycký (ANO) to ČTK.

The Northern Suburb, which includes not only Lochotín but also Vinice, is facing the greatest shortage of parking spaces in Plzeň. "The parking lots in our district Plzeň 1 were designed during the construction of the housing estates for a maximum of one car per apartment. But today it is three cars per apartment. I have a promise from the city leadership for the construction of a similar parking facility on Hodonínská Street in Vinice and we are identifying other suitable locations because we cannot go another way," said the district mayor Ivana Bubeníčková (ANO). This is the first parking garage owned by the city in the Northern Suburb; until now, there were private parking structures, most often hall garages.

"On Hodonínská, we are already drawing the implementation project; in the fall we want to select a contractor," stated Deputy Mayor Pavel Bosák (Pirates). It will again be a simple concrete skeleton without elevators and restrooms, which will be built on the current paved surface. According to Bubeníčková, the district does not want to expand asphalt parking lots at the expense of greenery. The solution lies in simple multi-story structures that maximally utilize the area and blend into the housing estate.

Achieving double the parking spaces, which would be optimal for the housing estate, will be difficult. However, the city, along with the district, is planning, for example, catchment parking lots on the outskirts of Plzeň. "Perhaps near the terminus of tram number 1, because during the day some parking lots in the housing estate are blocked by people who do not live here," stated Bubeníčková.

The Atom parking garage is a lightweight modular structure partially embedded in the ground. It will also provide ten spaces for holders of the ZTP card, three for motorcycles, and twelve for bicycles. "The building has a green facade with climbing plants. The top floor is prepared for photovoltaic installation," said Bosák. Later it will be equipped with charging stations; there is already one electronic charger there.

The two lower floors, partially embedded in the ground, are reserved for prepaid nonstop parking. People can reserve it starting in April through an online form. The monthly parking fee is 2,500 crowns, and the annual fee is 27,500 crowns. Recently, the city council decided that there will also be an option for short-term parking in Atom at a uniform price of 80 crowns per day, said Deputy Mayor Aleš Tolar (STAN).

During tests of the parking garage's lighting, local residents complained that the lamps from the parking lot were uncomfortably shining into their windows. "We adjusted them to minimize the blue light component," said light expert Hynek Medřický invited by the mayor. This also halved the electricity consumption.