The Angers down town retail shops could foot the bill of parking lots fares rise

If the increase of parking fares on August 1st will not please many inhabitants, more serious difficulties may be to come for Angers stores owners because many customers use to shop in down town with their car... The impact will be just as much important given that the costs in parkings lots are soaring from 20 to 100%!  For many people that raises the prices of the purchases and may lead consumers to the giant commercial complexes set up around the city, at the expenses of the retail shop keepers already weakened by more than two years of work demanded by the tramway.

The deputy-mayor in charge of transportation, Vincent Dulong, justifies the increase by the necessity to encourage inhabitants to use publics facilities (buses, tramway), "soft way of travelling" ( walk and bikes, even when it's raining, but it's quite unusual that year...), diversion parking lots.

If the increase of the fares, in gross value, doesn't look very important (0,20 euro), in relative figures, the impact is very different (see above). That is almost true for the overtime. So with their free parking lots, big stores will get an advantage. That situation could fuel a demand from some retail shops to open on Sundays.