Guide for parking in Reykjavik
What are the rules, where to park, how much is the parking ticket and how do you pay, how much are the fines for breaking the rules
When people come to visit Iceland, many of them choose to book a self-drive tour or rent a car and go exploring by themselves. It is not that hard to drive alone in Iceland, but you have to be aware of some rules that you have to respect especially within Reykjavik.
If you are wandering around Reykjavik with your rented car or motorhome you have to pay attention to the streets where access to cars and motorhomes is forbidden and also pay attention to the parking rules.
In Reykjavik, you have to pay for parking your car. If you don’t respect the traffic rules and don’t park in a parking lot, you will be subject to a fine, and believe me, fines in Iceland are no joke.
In this blog, you will find out what traffic actions are subject to a fine and also where to park in Reykjavik and how much to pay for parking.
In this blog, you will read about:
Parking rules within Reykjavik
Parking rules within Reykjavik
It is well known that traffic rules, in general, are international, which means that are the same in many countries, but some traffic rules may be more specific for a particular area in a country or a city. Because of that, here is the parking violation list according to Bílastæðasjóður.is:
‘A new parking code took effect on January 1st, 2020, Act no. 77/2019. According to the new code, fines can be levied for the following parking violations:
Violation of the prohibition against stopping or parking a vehicle designated by the traffic sign “parking prohibited” (Item C, Paragraph 1, Article 109) (B21.11);
Violation of the prohibition against stopping or parking a vehicle designated by the traffic sign “stopping prohibited” (Item C, Paragraph 1, Article 109) (B24.11);
Violation of the prohibition against stopping or parking a vehicle designated by a traffic sign indicating the prohibited area. (Item C, Paragraph 1, Article 109) (B22.11);
It is prohibited to stop or park a vehicle within 5m of a pedestrian crossing. (Item A, Paragraph 1, Article 29) (D02.11);
It is prohibited to stop or park a vehicle at an intersection or within 5 meters from the nearest divider of a traffic lane on a cross street. (Item B, Paragraph 1, Article 29);
Excepting the designated vehicles, it is prohibited to stop or park a vehicle in a space designated for public transport, within 15 meters from the sign designating the space. (Item B, Paragraph 2, Article 29) (D09.21);
Excepting the designated vehicles, it is prohibited to stop or park a vehicle in a space designated for the disabled. (Item A, Paragraph 2, Article 29) (D01.21 and D01.11. indicated with a sub sign J11.11);
Parking or stopping of motorized vehicles is prohibited in spaces not intended for motorized traffic, including sidewalks, pedestrian paths, pedestrian zones, bicycle lanes, or bicycle paths unless otherwise decided by Paragraph 1, Article 84. The same applies to traffic dividers, green areas, and other similar locations. (Paragraph 3, Article 28);
Other, by Article 84 and Paragraph 1, Article 86. (Item D and E, Paragraph 1, Article 109);
Excepting the designated vehicles, it is prohibited to stop or park a vehicle in a space designated for taxis, trucks or public transport. (Item C, Paragraph 2. Article 29) (D09-11)-Taxi;
Motorized vehicles may not be parked on living streets, or outside designated parking spaces. (Paragraph 2, Article 9) (D14.11);
Vehicles may only be parked on the right side of the road. On roads with one-way traffic, other rules may be put in place, accordingly Paragraph 1, Article 94 (Paragraph 2, Article 28);
It is prohibited to stop or park a vehicle in such a way that it obscures traffic signs or traffic lights. (Item C, Paragraph 1, Article 29);
It is prohibited to stop or park a vehicle in a road tunnel, under a bridge, or on a bridge, except where space is specifically provided for the purpose. (Item D, Paragraph 1, Article 29);
It is prohibited to stop or park a vehicle on a blind rise or – turn or other places where the view of oncoming traffic is limited. (Item E, Paragraph 1, Article 29);
It is prohibited to stop or park a vehicle where a road is divided into lanes with a solid centre- or dividing line or so near such a line as to make driving in the correct lane difficult. (Item CF Paragraph 1, Article 29);
It is prohibited to stop or park a vehicle in a roundabout. (Item G, Paragraph 1, Article 29);
Excepting the designated vehicles, it is prohibited to stop or park a vehicle in a space designated for taxis, trucks, or public transport. (Item C, Paragraph 1, Article 29) (D01.32)-Trucks;
Excepting the designated vehicles, it is prohibited to stop or park a vehicle in a space designated for taxis, trucks, or public transport (Item C, Paragraph 1, Article 29) (D01.32)-Public Transport;
Excepting the designated vehicles, it is prohibited to stop or park a vehicle in a space designated for charging an electric vehicle. (Item D, Paragraph 2, Article 29) (D01.34);
Excepting the designated vehicles, it is prohibited to stop or park a vehicle in a space designated for police vehicles. (Item E Paragraph 2, Article 29);
Excepting the designated vehicles, it is prohibited to stop or park a vehicle in a space designated for ambulances. (Item E, Paragraph 2, Article 29) (D01.37);
Excepting the designated vehicles, it is prohibited to stop or park a vehicle in a space designated for bicycles. (Item F, Paragraph 2, Article 29) (D01.41);
Excepting the designated vehicles, it is prohibited to stop or park a vehicle in a space designated for motorcycles. (Item G, Paragraph 2, Article 29);
Excepting the designated vehicles, it is prohibited to stop or park a vehicle in a space designated for automobiles. (Item H, Paragraph 2, Article 29) (D01.33);
It is prohibited to park a vehicle in such a way that it, wholly or partially, blocks the driveway of a house or real estate. (Item A, Paragraph 3, Article 29);
It is prohibited to park a vehicle beside another vehicle parked on the side of the road, except if that vehicle is a bicycle or motorized scooter. (Item B, Paragraph 3, Article 29);
It is prohibited to park a vehicle in the turn-around area of a cul-de-sac. (Item C, Paragraph 3, Article 29);
It is prohibited to park a vehicle in such a way that it blocks access to another vehicle or the moving of the said vehicle. (Item D, Paragraph 3, Article 29);
It is prohibited to park a vehicle in front of a fire hydrant. (Item E, Paragraph 3, Article 29);
The highway authority or, where applicable, the landowner, may, after consulting with the police, prohibit the parking of trailers, boats, recreational vehicles, and other such modes of transport on streets and parking areas where they are considered to pose a nuisance or unsanitary or hazardous conditions. (Paragraph 4, Article 29).’
Parking fines
Now that you have found out the rules for stopping or parking within Reykjavik, I am going to talk about the fines that are applied for violating those rules, so you will know what to expect if it will happen for you to violate those rules. But is better to not happen.
There are two types of parking fines in Reykjavik. According to Bílastæðasjóður.is those fines are: The first is the extra parking fines that are imposed on vehicles that did not pay for paid parking areas or for short or extra parking time. The other is parking fines that are imposed on vehicles that are parked illegally according to traffic regulations offences.
An extra parking fine is also known as a parking meter citation and is about 4500 ISK. You can pay just 3400 ISK if you pay the fine right away. But if the fine is not paid within 14 days after the citation date the fine goes up from 4500 ISK to 6750 ISK. Charges that remain unpaid after 28 days following the date of citation go up to 9.000-krónur.
The Parking Violation charges are imposed on vehicles where a parking violation, such as parking in a marked no parking zone, parking on a curb or too close to a walkway, or other more specific offences according to Article 109. Traffic laws no. 77/2019. It is currently 10.000 ISK, but if paid in full right away it is 8.900 ISK.
If the charge is not paid 14 days after the date of the citation, the fine goes up to 15.000 ISK, and fines that remain unpaid 28 days after the date of the citation go up to 20.000 ISK.
Parking Violation Charges- Parking in a handicapped parking space: The fine for parking in marked handicapped parking spaces without a valid disability card is 20.000 ISK. If paid in full right away it is 18.900 ISK.
If the charge is not paid within 14 days after the citation date, the fine goes up to 30.000 ISK. Fines that remain unpaid after 28 days go up to 40.000 ISK.
Parking zones and ticket price
Knowing what you should NOT do, I will write about what you SHOULD do when driving and parking in Reykjavik. You have two options for parking in Reykjavik one is on-street parking zones and the other is multi-story car parks each of them has different charging fees and schedules.
There are four different on-street zones within Reykjavik, and each of them has different charges depending on their location. Parking zones are marked with “P” followed by a number from 1-4 which means the number of the zone. The number also relates to how expensive is the parking ticket.
To be easier to understand have a look at the map below.
The coloured zones represent:
P1-Pink and red zones for which you have to pay for parking about 600 ISK per hour. P1 parking zone is time limited and you are allowed to park there only for three hours.
You will need to pay for parking in the P1 zone Monday-Saturday from 09:00 to 21:00 and Sunday from 10:00 to 21:00.
P2-Blue zone for which you have to pay about 190 ISK per hour for parking. You need to pay for parking in the P2 zone Monday-Saturday from 09:00 to 21:00 and Sunday from 10:00 to 21:00.
P3-Green zone for which you have to pay about 190 ISK 1st and 190 ISK 2nd hour, 55 ISK each hour thereafter. You need to pay for parking in the P3 zone Monday-Friday from 09:00 to 18:00.
P4-Yellow zone for which you have to pay about 190 ISK per hour. For the P4 zone, you need to pay for parking Monday-Friday from 8:00 to 16:00.
The multi-store car parks are open every day from 7:00 to 24:00. The charges vary based on the location of the parks. According to Bílastæðasjóður.is the price for parking tickets are the following:
For Stjörnuport, Laugavegur 94, Vitatorg, and Skúlagata/Vitastígur rates are 150 ISK 1st hour and 100 ISK each hour thereafter;
For Ráðhúsið, Tjarnargata 11, Vesturgata, Vesturgata 7, Traðarkot, Hverfisgata 20, Kolaport, Kalkofnsvegur 1, rates are 240 ISK 1st hour, 120 ISK each hour thereafter.
To find the location of the multi-store car parks, visit this site.
How to pay for parking
If you choose to park in an on-street zone you will find in each zone a parking meter or a ticket machine where you can pay either in cash or with your card. To pay at the ticket machine, you will have to know the license plate of your vehicle.
You register the license plate into the machine, choose the time you will park your vehicle there then pay. Some machines will print a ticket but some not.
If they don’t print a ticket it is not a problem because the parking attendant will scan your license plate to find out if you have paid or not for your parking.
For the parking meters, you will need to have some coins preferably bigger coins (10,50 or 100 ISK) because you can not pay by card at the parking meters so you might need to keep some coins in your pocket.
There are not so many parking meters left within Reykjavik as they are slowly replaced with ticket machines.
If you choose to park in a multi-store car park you will have a ticket issued at the entrance and you’ll need to take this ticket at one of the machines before you wish to leave.
Before leaving, insert your ticket and the amount of payment will be shown based on how much time you parked there. You can pay both cash or card.
There is also an easy way to pay for parking in Reyjkavik by using a mobile app called Parka. Parka is available both on IOS and Android and you can find it and download it from App Store or Google Play.
Using a mobile app like Parka has some benefits, for example, if you use Parka you pay for parking in Reykjavik, with no extra fees, pay for national parks, pay for the country’s biggest parking garages, the location of your car is stored, simpler check-in, customized and free notifications, faster check-out, pick pay-zones with ease, accessible pricing, parking garages are marked on a map.
Now that you know what to do and not do when parking in Reykjavik, you don’t have to worry about that. Just follow the rules and enjoy your stay in Iceland.
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