New parcel vending machines are springing up in Poland at an alarming rate. In addition to the obvious benefits , they also bring a lot of trouble - residents complain about noise, increased traffic or sound and light pollution. Not infrequently, their location also leaves much to be desired. One of the first Polish cities to act on this issue is Wroclaw, which has developed a set of guidelines for operators of such devices. Is this the beginning of a revolution?
Parcel vending is a disease afflicting Polish cities. The usefulness of parcel machines is indisputable - let the person who has never used such a device cast a stone. However, the high availability of this type of infrastructure comes at a high price. The currency here is the quality of urban space, which is clearly suffering due to the thoughtless and unregulated process of setting up new vending machines. The topic is coming up more and more often in discussions, and the second Polish city that, after Poznan, decided to respond to this problem in a systemic way (or at least aspiring to such a name) turned out to be Wroclaw. Will the innovative initiative be enough and become a model for other Polish cities?
Wroclaw has guidelines for parcel vending machines
In December of this year, the authorities of Wroclaw published a document entitled "Guidelines for operators of parcelvending machinesin the area of the city of Wroclaw," which is intended to become a code of good practice for locating new parcel machines, including InPost's Paczkomat machines. The content of the 12-page document has been divided into several chapters, taking into account such issues as accessibility, equipping the machines with electricity, location in urban space or aesthetics of the devices.
Accessibility or equipping with appropriate connections are categories whose proper implementation is as much in the investor's interest as possible. In practice, the matter is somewhat worse with urban and aesthetic aspects, so it is these sections of the new document that seem most interesting. Thus, the authors and authors of the "Guidelines" recommend, among other things, locating new devices in parking lots, near pedestrian routes (subject to the preservation of adequate communication, in backyards and other unrepresentative places, situating vending machines in the form of extensions to existing buildings (but not historic ones!) in a manner adapted to their dimensions. In turn, this type of facility should not be located, among other things, on scenic axes or green areas, especially within the Tree Protection Zone.
Attention was also drawn to the issue of landscaping the surroundings in the vicinity of parcel facilities, which is not infrequently a problematic issue, as the areas around the vending machines are lined with material different from nearby sidewalks and roadways, and often lack adequate paving. In terms of aesthetics, it was recommended to use subdued colors, cover the bodies of the vending machines with vegetation and install lighting that does not cause light pollution.
The rules were developed by the municipal company Wrocławskie Mieszkania in cooperation with the Lower Silesian Regional Monument Conservator and the Department of Architecture and Monuments of the City Hall.
Illegally located parcel vending machine in Poznan (2023)
photo: Jakub Glaz
poland a country of parcel machines
As InPost announced at the end of December this year, there are 25,000 Paczkomat devices in Poland that it operates. This is just less than half of all parcel machines in our country - according to data from Cashless.pl, there were more than 51,000 in total in Q3 2024. This is about 3,300 more than in the previous quarter, so the growth rate is gigantic, and if it continues, the number will reach the "hundred" thousand in the next few years.
As the editors of the Spider's Web portal note, with so many parcel machines, many of the benefits that could potentially come from an abundance of parcel pick-up and delivery devices are diluted. Implicitly, in addition to convenience of use, parcel machines were supposed to make things easier for couriers, who can leave more parcels at a specific point, instead of driving up to each apartment separately. The environment was also supposed to benefit, because fewer trips by courier vans also means lower emissions into the atmosphere. With parcel vending machines located at short distances, the number of trips between points increases, and it is traffic in cities that generates the relatively highest amount of air pollution.
"Corner" of parcel vending machines near Rogozinski Street in Krakow
photo: author's archive
small facility, big problem
Although regulations give the impression otherwise, parcel vending machines are not a "small" problem. The largest such structure owned by the InPost Group is currently located in Warsaw - its longer side stretches 22 meters. Until recently, the largest Parcel Machine in the country was located in Wroclaw. The Paczkowa "Godzilla", as it was fondly called by local media, was removed in December 2020 by a decision of the Municipal Conservator of Monuments - because the device was located in the Biskupin area, whose urban layout is under conservation protection.
parcel arbitrage
The most shocking thing in this case is not so much the size of the Parcel Machine itself, but rather the fact that such a facility could be built without any obstacles or prior arrangements with the preservation services in a protected area. There are probably many more such cases across the country - a little over a year ago we reported that thanks to the actions of the Municipal Conservator of Monuments in Poznan, dozens of parcel machines that did not have the proper permits disappeared from historic districts. Financial penalties also poured in. Why are Parcel Machines and other similar machines placed in such locations without much trouble?
ATM, ticket machine and parcel machine in one fixed row
The legal situation of parcel machines was not clear from the beginning. In May 2019, the Provincial Administrative Court in Lodz ruled that such devices are temporary construction facilities, and therefore their placement requires a construction permit. Shortly thereafter came an amendment to the Construction Law, which "regulated" the status of Parcel Machines and other similar devices. According to the wording of the amendment to the Construction Law of January 13, 2020, a construction permit or notification is not required for the location of:
ATMs, ticket machines, deposit machines, vending machines, parcel storage machines or machines for performing other types of services up to and including 3 meters in height
As a result, companies operating parcel machines have a great deal of discretion in locating their devices, unlike local governments, whose hands are usually tied in these matters.
There are situations in which residents of Poznań ask us to intervene - questioning the location of already operating or yet to be planned devices. According to the complainants, parcel machines cause or may cause inconvenience due to increased car and pedestrian traffic, so mainly exhaust fumes and noise. Our investigations then mainly involve checking the height of such a device, and if it turns out that it does not exceed 3 meters, we have no legal grounds to question the legality of the parcel machine in light of the Construction Law.
- Pawel Lukaszewski, District Building Supervision Inspector for the City of Poznan, wrote in 2022.
will there be no revolution?
In June of this year, Jakub Głaz wrote about the "toothless" landscape resolution in Poznań, which proved ineffective in stopping advertisements disfiguring the city. It appears that the new Wrocław document may also have toothlessness problems. According to media reports and city officials, the regulations have taken the form of guidelines, or a catalog of good practices that should be considered when locating new devices. They are not a resolution or any other document with any legal force - decisions based on them will therefore be discretionary. What's more (and understandably), the guidelines refer to parcel machines located on land owned by the municipality. It's interesting that such a document has been created only now, after all, it 's local governments that should first take care of the quality of public spaces, setting an example for cooperatives and other private entities.
Illegally located parcel vending machine in Poznań (2023)
photo: Jakub Głaz
It's hard to count on the fact that in capitalism "good practices" win out over the potential profits of setting up more vending machines. Parcel machines have revolutionized the way we send and receive packages, and we definitely need them - these are facts. However, this does not mean that in the name of convenience (which is also not obvious to everyone), spatial order should be abandoned. One can hope, however, that the good example of Wroclaw will be followed by other cities, and with the right public pressure, it will finally be possible to motivate the government to regulate the issue of parcel sending and receiving devices. With all this in mind, it is worth remembering that parcel machines are not the only such objects that can contribute to the growth of urban chaos - similarly, urban space is modified by ATMs, mobile outlets, and even technical and connection boxes, the unwise placement of which can negate years of work on creating beautiful and friendly spaces.
