Local guides have sounded alarm bells, warning that parking fees which were introduced at Seljalandsfoss waterfall earlier this summer are causing a potentially dangerous crisis at the road leading to the waterfall. Visitors, they argue, appear to be parking along the road to avoid paying the 700 ISK (6.7 USD/5.7 EUR) parking fee, contributing to a traffic jam and a potential hazard along the road.
Read more: Parking fees introduced at Seljalandsfoss waterfall this morning, will pay for maintenance
On July 24 the local municipality and landowners at Seljalandsfoss waterfall introduced a parking fee to pay for maintenance of the parking lot and other facilities by the waterfall. A spokesman for the local municipal government told the local news site Vísir that while the introduction of the parking fees had generated some unintended consequences, it had been generally successful, providing much needed funds to finance long awaited investments at the popular tourist destination.
Others have pointed out that the fines appear to have created a new problem, as visitors park their cars along the side of the road, rather than pay the fee. A local guide shot the following video, showing the conditions along the stretch of road leading from the Ring Road to the waterfall.
The Police in South Iceland is currently evaluating how to respond to the problem, saying it is not clear whether people are parking in the side of the road because they are avoiding the parking fees, or whether the cause might in some cases be that the parking lot by the waterfall was full: When one person parks his car in the side of the road others follow.
A spokesman for the Icelandic Road and Coastal Authority told Vísir that the IRCA and landowners would install traffic signs along the road to guide visitors to the parking lot.
Local guides have sounded alarm bells, warning that parking fees which were introduced at Seljalandsfoss waterfall earlier this summer are causing a potentially dangerous crisis at the road leading to the waterfall. Visitors, they argue, appear to be parking along the road to avoid paying the 700 ISK (6.7 USD/5.7 EUR) parking fee, contributing to a traffic jam and a potential hazard along the road.
Read more: Parking fees introduced at Seljalandsfoss waterfall this morning, will pay for maintenance
On July 24 the local municipality and landowners at Seljalandsfoss waterfall introduced a parking fee to pay for maintenance of the parking lot and other facilities by the waterfall. A spokesman for the local municipal government told the local news site Vísir that while the introduction of the parking fees had generated some unintended consequences, it had been generally successful, providing much needed funds to finance long awaited investments at the popular tourist destination.
Others have pointed out that the fines appear to have created a new problem, as visitors park their cars along the side of the road, rather than pay the fee. A local guide shot the following video, showing the conditions along the stretch of road leading from the Ring Road to the waterfall.
The Police in South Iceland is currently evaluating how to respond to the problem, saying it is not clear whether people are parking in the side of the road because they are avoiding the parking fees, or whether the cause might in some cases be that the parking lot by the waterfall was full: When one person parks his car in the side of the road others follow.
A spokesman for the Icelandic Road and Coastal Authority told Vísir that the IRCA and landowners would install traffic signs along the road to guide visitors to the parking lot.
