The Parking Regulatory Ordinance or Ordinance for the Regulation of Parking (ORA) is a municipal ordinance applied in several Spanish cities by which certain parking areas are established in which the user must purchase a ticket for their vehicle.
Other names
In some places it is known as O.T.A. (Traffic and Parking Ordinance[1] or Parking Pricing/Assessment Ordinance), O.L.A. (Parking Limiting Ordinance[2]), ESRO (ROtative Parking or ROtation Regulated Parking[3]) or S.E.R. (in Madrid[4]) (Regulated Parking Service). There are also localities with a name specific to the ordinance, such as O.C.A. (Castro Parking Ordinance, in Castro-Urdiales[5]).
parking areas
Although parking areas (ORA zones) are usually delimited by blue stripes - hence they are called blue zone - currently some cities such as Madrid divide parking between residents -green zone- and visitors -blue zone-, allowing non-residents to also park in their spaces, although at a higher price and with a shorter time limit. Depending on the location, the color can have one meaning or another (exclusive parking area for residents, long-term parking area, short-term parking area...).
In any case, in the regulated area a maximum parking time is set based on the amount paid. The aim of these areas is to make the most of parking spaces, facilitating the rotation of vehicles, especially in the most central areas of large cities, where parking is a serious problem for drivers.
Resident permit
Users of public roads throughout Spain have the possibility of carrying out the Resident procedure of the city or town in question, in order to have access to parking without a time limit by paying a fee, generally annual. For this, it is necessary that the interested person be registered in the town to which they want to apply for the parking authorization. In most locations, this permit is delimited by zones, that is, residents will be able to park their vehicles within limits established by the local council, according to the location of the residence of the person involved.
Regulated Parking Ordinance
Introduction
The Parking Regulatory Ordinance or Ordinance for the Regulation of Parking (ORA) is a municipal ordinance applied in several Spanish cities by which certain parking areas are established in which the user must purchase a ticket for their vehicle.
Other names
In some places it is known as O.T.A. (Traffic and Parking Ordinance[1] or Parking Pricing/Assessment Ordinance), O.L.A. (Parking Limiting Ordinance[2]), ESRO (ROtative Parking or ROtation Regulated Parking[3]) or S.E.R. (in Madrid[4]) (Regulated Parking Service). There are also localities with a name specific to the ordinance, such as O.C.A. (Castro Parking Ordinance, in Castro-Urdiales[5]).
parking areas
Although parking areas (ORA zones) are usually delimited by blue stripes - hence they are called blue zone - currently some cities such as Madrid divide parking between residents -green zone- and visitors -blue zone-, allowing non-residents to also park in their spaces, although at a higher price and with a shorter time limit. Depending on the location, the color can have one meaning or another (exclusive parking area for residents, long-term parking area, short-term parking area...).
In any case, in the regulated area a maximum parking time is set based on the amount paid. The aim of these areas is to make the most of parking spaces, facilitating the rotation of vehicles, especially in the most central areas of large cities, where parking is a serious problem for drivers.
Resident permit
In the city of Madrid, the SER for Residents, this parking authorization is obtained through an application to the Madrid City Council. In this case, payments can be made monthly or annually in each case.
On the other hand, and exceptionally, there is the possibility of being able to have the aforementioned permit without the person being registered in the town. Of course, in these cases, the permits will be temporary, that is, they will be valid for a limited period of time.
Control
Obtaining the parking ticket is carried out at the vending machines called parking meters installed for this purpose near the parking areas. In addition, the use of mobile applications for payment in the blue zone has proliferated.
The control of vehicles parked in ORA zones, as well as the reporting procedure for those who in one way or another violate the regulations, corresponds to personnel specifically assigned to this task (controllers) or to local police officers, depending on each city.
Users of public roads throughout Spain have the possibility of carrying out the Resident procedure of the city or town in question, in order to have access to parking without a time limit by paying a fee, generally annual. For this, it is necessary that the interested person be registered in the town to which they want to apply for the parking authorization. In most locations, this permit is delimited by zones, that is, residents will be able to park their vehicles within limits established by the local council, according to the location of the residence of the person involved.
In the city of Madrid, the SER for Residents, this parking authorization is obtained through an application to the Madrid City Council. In this case, payments can be made monthly or annually in each case.
On the other hand, and exceptionally, there is the possibility of being able to have the aforementioned permit without the person being registered in the town. Of course, in these cases, the permits will be temporary, that is, they will be valid for a limited period of time.
Control
Obtaining the parking ticket is carried out at the vending machines called parking meters installed for this purpose near the parking areas. In addition, the use of mobile applications for payment in the blue zone has proliferated.
The control of vehicles parked in ORA zones, as well as the reporting procedure for those who in one way or another violate the regulations, corresponds to personnel specifically assigned to this task (controllers) or to local police officers, depending on each city.