There aren’t many fines for parking motorbikes in the blue zone, and the amount of fines went down by about 31% in 2024 compared to the year before. This shows that there isn’t much enforcement pressure on this activity.
For a lot of cars, parking in the middle of Alicante has become a real mission impossible. There are fewer and fewer places for automobiles to park in the blue or orange zones. There are loading and unloading zones, roads, spaces set aside for containers, and sections just for motorcycles. There is also a problem that is getting more and more criticism: motorbikes who don’t pay for a ticket are taking up regulated parking spaces.
Motorcycles often park in blue zone parking spots meant for vehicles on various streets in the city centre. These cars take up space without paying the cost, and in many cases, they stay parked for hours or even the whole day. This makes it harder for the controlled parking system to get cars to move around more quickly.
The city law on controlled parking says that motorbikes and mopeds can’t park in the blue or orange zones, which are the regulated parking areas. The City Council must set aside certain spots for these vehicles. But the truth is that the streets are different, and this practice has become common since there aren’t enough motorbike parking spaces and the rules aren’t being enforced well enough.
Recent data from the city shows that there aren’t many fines for parking motorbikes in the blue zone. In fact, the number of charges dropped by almost 31% in 2024 compared to the previous year, which shows that there isn’t much of a punishment for this behaviour.
Less space to park and more demand to park
The situation gets worse as the number of parking places in the city keeps going down. According to the most recent municipal data, Alicante went from 4,602 spaces in 2021 to 4,374 in 2022. This decline is mostly due to urban redevelopment and pedestrianisation efforts in the city centre.
These changes to the city, together with the rise of outdoor lounging places, trash cans, and logistics zones, have made parking spaces harder to find and made competition for each space stronger. Motorcycles taking up blue zone parking spaces is making vehicle drivers frustrated since they have to pay to park and are finding fewer and fewer locations.
A debate over urban mobility is coming up.
There has been a long-running argument about whether motorcyclists should be able to park in paid parking areas in Alicante. There have been talks about permitting paid parking or enlarging dedicated motorbike spaces at different times, but neither of these ideas has been put into action.
Meanwhile, it’s still normal to see motorcycles parked in metered places without a ticket on several streets in the city centre. Residents and vehicles have complained that this condition makes it harder to find parking and raises questions about how well the rotating mechanism that makes expensive parking zones necessary works.
The City Council still hasn’t dealt with a problem that is getting more and more complaints from people who use public roadways. This is because the ORA contract is up for renewal and the city’s parking model is being reviewed.
