NEWS INTERNATIONAL FOCUS Keeping a lid on it
PARKING SPACE IS NOT A BIG ISSUE FOR MUNICH RESIDENTS AND VISITORS, BUT A NEW GUIDANCE SYSTEM EMPHASISES THE GOVERNMENT’S DETERMINATION TO KEEP IT THAT WAY. JOHANNA KOPP REPORTS
D
uring recent decades the Bavarian city of Munich has developed into a prominent economic and administrative centre of national and
international importance. Overall, the parking pressure in Munich is – especially compared to other major cities – moderate. Parking search times of less than fi ve minutes confi rm this. In Munich, there are 726 public parking
spaces per 1,000 cars, of which public car parks take up a comparatively small share. T e car parks and underground garages usually have spare capacity; depending on the circumstances, they are busy in diff erent ways. Also temporal diff erences are clearly visible: Highest occupancy rates are recorded in the winter months. All the facilities are better utilised on Saturdays than during the week. Munich has the highest parking fees
in Germany. It is interesting to compare the fees between on-street parking sites and parking spaces in public car parks. T e cost of parking in off -street garages is consistently higher than on-street, but the diff erence is much less signifi cant than in other cities. In New York, for example, the charges in car parks are 10 times as high as on-street.
A joined-up approach T e overall strategy for stationary traffi c is integrated with the city’s transport development plan. T e following objectives are set out: better
living environment and quality of stay in the area; reducing traffi c caused by searching for a parking space; better accessibility for commercial traffi c; and better accessibility for visitors and eff ective use of existing parking space.
The overall strategy for stationary traffi c
is integrated with the city’s transport development plan
Parking demand is controlled by the
introduction of parking management areas, and existing parking space should be used more eff ectively through the provision of information. In addition, park-and-ride is a very important part of parking management. T e largest facilities are located at the commuter rail stations in the Munich suburbs. With park-and- ride, the volume of traffi c in the city should be reduced as travellers can make a convenient switch from their vehicle to public transport. As part of the parking management strategy in Munich, a concept was developed that divides the streets into three diff erent parking areas. In residential parking areas, only authorised residents are permitted to leave their vehicles. In mixed-use areas, residents with a license to park
can use the facilities but visitors are obliged to pay parking fees.
In the third area everyone pays –
chargeable short-term parking areas allow parking for up to two hours. T e management times apply in all areas on weekdays, from 9am to 11pm. Parking is free of charge at night. A special feature is the “blue zone”
in Munich’s city centre. T e numerous diff erent rules and signs have given way to one single system. Drivers may pay to park within the blue zone for up to two hours. An additional feature is the orange loading zone, designated for commercial traffi c.
Indicating the way By 2006, Munich was one of the few German cities that had no parking guidance system. Today, the parking guidance system in Munich’s city centre and the main station quarter includes 24 public car parks, providing 7,400 spaces. T e guidance system is found mainly on the main roads, with both static signs and regularly updated electronic information.
Parkinfo.com is the main provider of
static and dynamic parking information, – not just in Munich, but in many other German and European cities. At present, only Munich Airport off ers additional services such as valet parking, reservations or extra large parking spaces. T e government’s parking strategy is
to use pricing and the guidance system to shift traffi c from the public streets into off -street car parks. T e main contention for drivers is on-street parking, where confl icts arise between local residents and visitors, particularly in the evenings.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Johanna Kopp is a freelance journalist. She has carried out extensive research into parking policy in Europe and the USA
At present Munich airport is the only parking provider that off ers additional services
12 MARCH 2011
www.britishparking.co.uk
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