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Citizen was not informed about the processing of his application

A 76-year-old Viennese man complained to the Austrian Ombudsman Board because he had applied to the City of Vienna for the construction of a disabled parking space with a licence plate, but this had dragged on for several years: his application had simply been postponed twice without written notification or justification, and a further application submitted at the beginning of February 2024 had led to a local inspection, but without any obvious change. His enquiries in this regard had also not been answered. The complainant had a 70% disability and also stated that there was no public transport near his home in the 21st district, that he had to walk approx. 1 km to the nearest bus stop and that there were hardly any parking options due to an adjacent allotment garden area.

In its statement, the City of Vienna replied that the subsequent submission of the required documents and their subsequent review had taken longer. The local negotiations in April 2024 had been successfully concluded and the corresponding ordinance had been issued in the summer. In the meantime, the disabled zone had been announced by MA 28 (Road Administration and Road Construction) on 15 October 2024 and the complainant was also using it.

However, as the complainant had not been informed of the positive outcome of his request by October, despite his enquiries by email, the Austrian Ombudsman Board identified an instance of maladministration. "We hope that this case will also be taken as an opportunity to ensure that citizens are informed promptly in future, even if their concerns are dealt with positively," summarises Ombudswoman Elisabeth Schwetz.

Translation was AI-generated

Disabled parking space traffic sign Photo (c) Wikimedia Commons/RamdomDuck5000