Free parking in Panamas municipal lots is a no no

If you have been parking for free in a Panama municipal parking lot, be sure the eyes of the authorities are on you.

The city is  calling  on those who use the parking lots in areas of municipal services to pay, for them as the  spaces are for City use.

 Orestes Vargas head of municipal parking lots, said several dozen companies and individuals are using areas set aside for municipal and private parking. The situation is most evident along the Via Espana  and Calidonia, as Bethany, Bella Vista, San Francisco, Pueblo Nuevo and Via Argentina.

In these areas, city staff have found companies using  municipal parking lots as their ownsaid Vargas.. The situation has worsened in areas where road works are being  carried out for  the construction of Panama's Metro Line 1.  

 In Panama City, during normal business hours a half a million vehicles   are likely to be circulating  but only 310 000 cars are registered in the  municipality, according to official records.