In a press release, the city announced that parking fees will be introduced in twelve new areas around the capital. These locations were selected due to a clear need to “organize traffic,” primarily because of the high occupancy of street parking.
“We want to reduce emissions and fill the city with more pedestrian streets, bike lanes, and bus lanes, rather than long-term parking spaces. The goal is for walking, cycling, or using public transportation to always be the most attractive option,” said Lars Strömgren in a statement.
Stockholm is divided into different parking fee zones. Several of these zones have been inactive, but they will now be activated. In other words, it will now cost money to park in these locations.
The decision means that parking fees will be introduced in Vällingby, Råcksta, Blackeberg, Fruängen, Älvsjö, Stureby, Svedmyra, Tallkrogen, and the currently free areas of Äppelviken, Mälarhöjden, Gamla Enskede, and Skarpnäcks gård.
Parking Zone 5 will be applied in these areas. This means a fee of 5 SEK per hour for visitor parking between 7 AM and 7 PM on weekdays, excluding the day before a Sunday or public holiday. Parking is free during all other times.
In connection with these new paid areas, new residential parking zones will also be introduced. In Zone 5, residential parking will cost 300 SEK for 30 days or 20 SEK per day.
“These are areas with high parking occupancy where it’s often hard to find a place to park. By introducing parking fees, we increase the number of available spaces and make it easier to find a parking spot when needed—for example, for home care staff, tradespeople, and residents who cannot park in a garage,” said Johan Heinonen (Social Democrats), a member of Stockholm’s Traffic Committee.
In addition to parking occupancy rates, proximity to public transport was also considered, as it influences the need to drive in everyday life. Another factor included in the assessment was the availability of parking on private property, in parking garages, and underground facilities.
“We want the shared public space to be accessible to as many people as possible. In large parts of Stockholm, there are vacant parking spots on private lots that are underutilized,” said Maria Mustonen (Left Party), also a member of the city’s Traffic Committee.
The Traffic Office has also proposed that the areas of Solberga and Östberga should be subject to parking fees to manage the high parking demand. However, the red-green coalition does not support this.
“Östberga and Solberga lack rail-bound public transport and have less access to local services compared to many other areas. There are also relatively few available parking spaces on private lots and in garages. Therefore, we want to hold off on introducing parking fees in these areas,” said Lars Strömgren.
The new parking fees will be decided by the Traffic Committee on April 24 and confirmed by the City Council on September 1. The changes will be implemented gradually during the autumn and winter.
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