The Blue Disc sets the record straight

The scheme had been approved in 2015 and introduced in March 2016, but was suspended two years later, in September 2018. Last December, the Collectivité announced that it would be reinstated from the first quarter of 2026. Once the parking bay markings have been painted blue and the road signs installed, it will finally come into force this week… with a grace period regarding enforcement throughout the summer. The conclusion is the same as that drawn ten years ago: “Public roads cannot be used solely for prolonged and excessive parking,” the Collectivité states in a press release.

Which areas?

The Blue Zone will initially cover certain key shopping streets to ensure a turnover of parking spaces. Unlike in 2016, not all streets in the city centre will be affected, so as not to penalise other users of the city centre (residents or employees).
The Blue Zone will extend along Rue de la République, Rue du Président Kennedy, Rue du Général de Gaulle, and on Boulevard de France (on the side with the shops only) and Boulevard Hubert Petit (opposite the West Indies Mall).
The parking spaces concerned are marked with blue road markings, and the parking time limit – a maximum of 1 hour 30 minutes between 9.00 am and 6.00 pm from Monday to Saturday – is indicated on the road signs. Outside these times (after 6.00 pm, on Sundays and public holidays), parking will be permitted without a parking disc.

Where can you get a parking disc?

To comply with the regulations, you must therefore display a parking disc on your dashboard. It is free of charge and can be collected from the Hôtel de la Collectivité or the Marigot police station, at all Cadisco petrol stations and at the Blue Point petrol station.  Please note that from 1 September, motorists who fail to display their parking disc on the relevant streets will face a fixed penalty of €17 and their vehicle may be towed away. Of course, this scheme does not apply to people with disabilities holding a GIG or GIC badge… provided they can access these spaces. On Monday morning, the majority of spaces in the town centre and all those in the Bellevue car park were occupied by vehicles without a permit!
The boundaries of the blue zone could be extended at a later stage, and the local authority is considering introducing paid parking. It is also considering introducing a shuttle bus between the town centre and the Galisbay car park, as well as reorganising the public transport network… two projects that people have been waiting for for years. It is also worth noting that the spaces reserved for taxis on the streets covered by the blue zone remain in place, even though they have a dedicated car park, located a stone’s throw from the town centre, in front of the coach station, which is largely under-used. Another question is why the spaces in the adjacent car park and in front of the West Indies, which are constantly occupied by car hire companies, are not affected by these new measures? They are subject neither to the blue disc scheme nor to parking restrictions, even though they, too, could be relocated to the Galisbay car park and linked to the town centre by the future shuttle bus, as is already the case in many other towns.