Agora: The Basic Right To Parking Is Not Compatible With The Mobility Transition

2023 Author: Eric Donovan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-11-27 05:39

The cities are getting fuller, but many continue to drive into the city center. One reason for this is the low parking price, according to the Agora Verkehrswende.

A legal opinion commissioned by the Agora Verkehrswende think tank ("Public space is worth more. A legal opinion on the scope for action in municipalities") comes to the conclusion that parking spaces in public spaces are currently too cheap.

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"Today a disproportionately large part of the scarce space is used for motorized individual traffic, rolling and stationary private cars," says the report prepared by the Berlin law firm Becker Büttner Held.

Traffic has to forego spatial claims

In the opinion of the authors, both stationary and motorized private transport would have to forego space requirements in order to increase the quality of life in the residential areas. To this end, the authors propose a shortage of parking spaces and the pricing of parking space. Where parking fees are already being charged, they should be increased because the pricing of the public parking space does not reflect its value.

At the same time, however, it is necessary that alternatives to privately used cars are created. This includes car sharing offers as well as Park & Ride options such as networked local public transport.

Parking too cheap in international comparison

"More livable cities emerge when the interests of the users of private cars are no longer one-sided in the distribution of usage demands in public space," said the head of the Agora-Verkehrswende, Christian Hochfeld. “Not least because the Chancellor made it clear that the traffic turnaround is necessary, this challenge is now on the political agenda in many cities. With our report, we are entering new legal territory and paving the way there,”says Hochfeld with conviction.

According to the study, cities already have the option of reallocating the parking space for sustainable and therefore climate-friendly mobility for all road users and also of adjusting parking fees. However, the leeway for this is not used sufficiently. For example, one hour of parking in London costs 5.60 euros, in Berlin it costs just 3 euros, depending on the district.

Residential parking in Germany cheap

According to the study, there are similar differences in the fees for a resident parking permit: in Berlin the fee is 30.70 euros per year, in Amsterdam 535 euros and in Stockholm as much as 827 euros. The legal opinion suggests that the parking ban should be included in the road traffic regulations as a rule. Currently, parking is always allowed when it is not prohibited. "A basic right to parking is not compatible with the mobility transition in our cities," said Hochfeld.

As the legal opinion states, the municipalities could control the land use, but not to a sufficient extent due to the legal situation. Changes in road traffic law are necessary for this. These should enable “better parking management, higher pricing of parking spaces and more effective regulation of new mobility offers (car sharing),” the study says. The report now presented is intended to provide a basis for this.