Near the building of the National Bank of Macedonia, next to the pedestrian and bicycle paths, resourceful Skopje residents found a piece of land under no one's jurisdiction, which has long served as an improvised "wild parking lot", visible to all citizens, but an unsolvable puzzle for the authorities.

The parking problem, a constant concern for Skopje residents, is present throughout the city, especially in the city center. According to city center residents, the solution is either by changing the type of transport – bus, electric moped or bicycle, or some, on the other hand, find creative parking spaces and "black holes" for which the authorities have no solution.

Skopje residents found such a "black hole" right next to the National Bank of Macedonia, in the Madžir Maalo neighborhood, where illegally parked cars have been visible on an unmarked stretch of road for a long time, covering the green area and in close proximity to pedestrians.

"Sloboden Pechat" received photos and videos from passersby showing the improvised "wild" parking lot located behind the bus stops opposite "Vero Jumbo", where more than 30 cars have been parked daily for a long time.

A team from "Sloboden Pechat" went to the location and again noticed dozens of parked vehicles there, and according to passers-by, people have been parking their cars in this area for a long time. Drivers even managed to create an alternative exit from this parking lot, which directly cuts through the bicycle and pedestrian path along the sidewalk, endangering the safety of both cyclists and pedestrians.

The Municipality of Centar says that they are not responsible for this problem and directed us to the POC service, which according to them is responsible for this illegal parking.

We sent questions to the POC service about whether they are aware of what is happening in that area and why they are not punishing owners who park their vehicles illegally, but we did not receive a specific answer from them about how they will deal with this illegal parking or whether they have received complaints from citizens. They claim that this area in Madzir Maalo is not under their jurisdiction, but under the jurisdiction of the Municipality of Centar or the City of Skopje.

None of these institutions have given us a concrete answer about the jurisdiction and the way to sanction these drivers in the future, and it is obvious that the police rarely visit there either. Since there are no penalties, there is a good chance that this "no man's land" will continue to serve as a free parking option for Skopje residents in the center of the capital for a long time to come, thereby usurping the green space on a daily basis and endangering the safety of passers-by.