Park & shop

Non-resident parking passes for downtown Prague are so expensive (Kč 50,000) and metered-parking spots so scarce that many crafty drivers have found that it's better to park in the reserved blue zone and take their chances. They'll have to rethink their strategy now that a new law gives city police the right to tow away such illegally parked cars. Tow trucks are out in full force, especially on half-empty streets (where it's less work to maneuver those cumbersome vehicles). Some retailers suspect that it's all a plot by shopping-mall operators, who want to force car-addicted Praguers to forsake the downtown in favor of suburban centers of consumer bliss. Of course, not all downtown store owners can survive on metro-riders and tourists alone. City-center retailers in Passau, Germany, decided to fight back by giving store discounts to anyone who can present a ticket for bad parking. [Czech Republic consumerism subway]