Parking comes under the gun in the new transport plan for the greater Tallinn area, prioritizing public transport such as new tram lines as alternatives to car use in the increasingly congested capital.
The authors of the recently released development plan state that public transport has not kept up with real estate development and says some families in bedroom communities and suburbs need two or three cars to function.
"If we do not put public transport first as a development priority soon, there is no hope that transport problems will abate in conditions where the amount of road construction is increasing significantly," the development plan states.
Parking is seen as the key problem to solve since many Tallinn thoroughfares are narrow yet allow parking on both sides of the street.
According to the plan, the number of parking spaces must be reduced, the paid parking zone must be expanded and parking fees should increase.
The plan calls for a progressive fee system where longer parking sessions would cost more per hour.
The city also wants to introduce an uninterrupted system of light-vehicle routes that connect the train stations and public transport stops.
Being costly, tram lines will not necessarily replace the trolleybus and bus routes. But the Lasnamäe and Mustamäe lines will be built in that order, and by 2020 the Port of Tallinn is to be served by the tram network as well, ensuring connections between the central train station, passenger port and city centre. By 2025, tram lines are planned for the airport and the Paljassaare peninsula. By 2030, the tram line that terminates at Tondi just 2 kilometres from the Old Town would run all the way to the city limits.