The Varyáda shopping center has not abandoned the idea of restricting free parking for everyone. At this moment, it is fine-tuning the shortcomings. The parking gates will remain open for everyone until Christmas.
The Karlovy Vary shopping center Varyáda, after its expansion, which was ceremoniously completed on Saturday with a big Grand Opening, is undoubtedly the largest department store in the region. It now offers over 110 retail units, a large food court, and six cinema halls. However, in recent days, traffic complications caused by parking have been a blemish on its beauty. In connection with this, a significant change and positive news for all who use the center is now coming. The gates to the parking lot will remain open at least until the end of this year.
The expansion also came at the expense of the number of parking spaces. And because Varyáda had so far offered parking for anyone and the local parking lot also served visitors to Mattoni Arena, especially during hockey matches, it decided to restrict parking. It installed parking gates there and began testing their operation at the beginning of September.
However, the testing mode was not without problems, and sometimes queues formed there. Since last week, the barriers have remained up, and the testing operation is running in this mode. “We have not given up on the new parking system; the gates remain open. In the last week, technical complications arose where the barrier did not lift after scanning the parking ticket, and the driver had to call security. However, we have fixed the defect and installed a new version of the software. I would like to apologize to all Karlovy Vary residents for the complications and assure them that entry and exit to Varyáda are now without delay,” explained Martin Malý, marketing director of EPG Group, which owns the center.
“We are still evaluating the operation of the car park, monitoring vehicle entries and exits, and what cars use the car park. Testing will take a long time, but I can assure you that the car park will remain unrestricted until Christmas,” he added.
One of the major complications is the fact that the exit gate is located just a few meters from the traffic light and the exits onto Kpt. Jaroše Street. Even a city bus, which drives to the shopping center, often has trouble making the green light. According to Malý, the synchronization of the traffic light signalization is currently being addressed.
Free parking is also to be restricted in front of the Mattoni Arena itself, where there has been a rapid increase in vehicles in recent months. These moved here mainly from Tuhnice after residential parking was introduced and parking became paid at the beginning of the holidays. As Mayor Andrea Pfeffer Ferklová (ANO) noted some time ago, no changes will occur in front of the Mattoni Arena in the foreseeable future.