The local lane behind the bus stop at Burgas University Hospital, which runs between blocks 1, 2 and 5 in the Zornitsa district, is now closed to parking after a new road link to Nikola Petkov Boulevard opened. Residents of block 2 are collecting signatures asking Burgas council for new parking spots to replace the ones they lost.

New signs are already up, and checks started as soon as the traffic layout changed. Drivers are getting fined, and some cars have been towed.

The ban is down to the street's new role, says Ivan Gyulev, who is in charge of road safety at Burgas council. The new link from the block 5 area to the junction by McDonald's connects the local street to Nikola Petkov Boulevard. The plan is for it to give ambulances a fast route through in emergencies, which means the full width of the road has to stay clear.

For years, drivers parked their cars parallel to the kerb on the right, with a perpendicular parking area on the left. While one end of the street was closed off, those parked cars didn't get in the way of traffic passing through. Now the street works as an alternative way out of the area around the hospital.

Local residents say they've parked that way for years without it causing problems, since two cars could easily pass each other. They don't see why it needed to change, especially given how few parking spots there already are, and feel they've lost spaces without being offered anything in return. People in block 2 are the most upset, since the street was one of the few natural parking spots right by their homes.

Residents say there's almost no open land left in the neighbourhood. If there's no other option, they'll ask for new spaces to be carved out of some of the green areas, though they worry that could spark a fresh fight over the space between the blocks. They want the council to say first where new spaces could go, before the argument spreads to pavements, green areas and nearby streets.

The area sits between Stefan Stambolov Boulevard, Nikola Petkov Boulevard and the Burgas University Hospital complex, close to a busy bus stop, shops and one of the city's busiest junctions. The hospital draws drivers from across the city and the wider region, so parking pressure in the neighbourhood is constant.

An older council document covering blocks 2 and 3, to the northwest, lists the local lane behind the bus stop as having designated parking spaces. Plans for the area include changes to the street network, roadside parking and access around the hospital and sports facilities in Zornitsa, with the new ban forming part of a wider overhaul of traffic in that part of the complex.

None of this is linked to an incident at Burgas University Hospital on September 12, 2025. According to the Burgas regional police directorate (ODMVR), a 51-year-old driver got angry because two ambulances were blocking his way. He hit one of them with a wrench, injuring the driver's arm. He then pulled out a gun and pointed it at them. A court remanded him in custody on charges of hooliganism and making death threats.