Belgrade’s Obilićev Venac garage wins European Parking Association’s award

The Obilićev Venac garage has won the European Parking Award in the category of Renovated Parking Structures for 2019, Parking Servis, the public company managing the parking system in Belgrade, Serbia, said in a press release following the European Parking Association’s (EPA) award ceremony in Malaga, Spain.

Parking Servis took part in the competition with its Obilićev Venac reconstruction and modernization project, reaching finals with two garage reconstruction projects from Belgium (Brussels and Zaventem).

The reconstruction transformed the Obilićev Venac garage into a smart facility with 804 parking spaces, solar panels, electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, and a waste sorting system.

The EPA hands the awards biannually, in five categories: New Parking Structures, Renovated Parking Structures, On-Street Parking Projects, Innovative Schemes in Parking, and Marketing & Communication on Parking.

Contributions to Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMPs) and urban development are among important factors when deciding on winning projects

The contributions of the parking operation to Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMPs) and urban development are among important factors when deciding on winning projects, according to the EPA’s website.

The event in Malaga was attended by Belgrade’s chief planner, Marko Stojčić, and Parking Servis’ managing director, Andrija Čupković.

Of a total of some 40 entries, the Obilićev Venac reconstruction and modernization was the only non-EU project to compete for one of the EPA Awards 2019, according to Stojčić.

The EPA Award speaks to the quality of the Obilićev Venac reconstruction carried out by Parking Servis, said Čupković, recalling that the garage is also the first in Europe to have won the Parksmart certificate recognizing high-performing, sustainable garages.

EPA Board President Laurence Bannerman was quoted as saying that all projects that took part in the competition were good and that the winners were decided by an independent, qualified jury that visited all the competing garages. The Obilićev Venac renovation was carried out under a very innovative European project that impressed with the degree of dedication built into it, he was quoted as saying.

The EPA Awards were presented at the EPA Congress, which decided that the next session of the body will be held in Belgrade next year, according to Deputy Mayor Goran Vesić, as reported by the City of Belgrade’s website.