The parking lot near the Kyiv velodrome on Vyacheslava Lypynskoho Street, 15, has become inaccessible to most residents of the capital, causing a significant public outcry.
This is reported by Kyiv24
Why the Parking Remains Unavailable to Kyiv Residents
In the lot designated for 40 cars, there are almost always no available spaces: the information board constantly shows “0” available parking spots regardless of the time of day. Activists have raised this issue, as the parking officially belongs to the municipal enterprise “Sports Complex ‘Start'” but has not been included in the list of shelters in Kyiv since the beginning of the full-scale war.
Co-founder of the public organization “Passengers of Kyiv” Oleksandr Hrechko investigated that an hour of parking costs 50 hryvnias, but a monthly subscription can be purchased for 6900 hryvnias, which translates to only 9.5 UAH/hour. After purchasing a subscription, a spot is effectively reserved for the owner, which is utilized by about 30 car owners each month.
As a result, approximately 75% of parking spaces remain unavailable to the community, as they are constantly occupied by subscription holders. Consequently, the parking loses about 500,000 hryvnias in potential income each month that could be generated from hourly payments.
“It is abnormal when a group of 30 private cars blocks the opportunity for hundreds of people, who come daily for rehabilitation at the velodrome, to the Trauma Institute, or simply to run errands in the city center, to park conveniently for 1-2-3 hours.”
Oleksandr Hrechko urges the municipal enterprise to stop selling monthly subscriptions, leaving only hourly payments, which would allow several hundred car owners to use the parking daily. He emphasizes that the maintenance of the facility is funded by the taxes of all Kyiv residents, so access should be open to the community.
History of the Velodrome and Its Funding
The velodrome in Kyiv has a long history: it was built in 1913 near the then-Fundukleivska Street (now Bohdana Khmelnytskoho). In 2009, the structure was demolished for residential development, but the public and athletes fought to preserve it, returning it to municipal ownership. In 2014, a large-scale reconstruction began, lasting three years and costing the city 96 million hryvnias. The renovated velodrome was opened in 2017.
According to the director of the velodrome, Volodymyr Melnyk, six months after its opening, the arena was already generating about 60% of the necessary funds on its own, while the rest was financed from the city budget through the municipal enterprise “Sports Complex”.
“We were concerned that the enterprise would be unprofitable, as a lot of money is needed to maintain it in proper condition, for utilities, and for employee salaries. However, just six months into its operation, the velodrome showed that it could sustain itself. The city only covers a small portion of utility costs,” stated Volodymyr Melnyk.
Additional income for the velodrome comes from the operation of the underground parking, fitness and yoga classes, and renting out spaces for cafes or television shoots. Despite this, financial support from the city budget remains significant: in 2022, the enterprise received 2.1 million hryvnias in income, while the city financed it with 4.7 million hryvnias. In the first half of 2023, over 2 million hryvnias were allocated again.
Thus, despite investments from the local budget, the velodrome remains unprofitable, and the issue of effective parking utilization and its accessibility for city residents requires immediate resolution.