Are parking garages the solution? Park Now boss: Cities often lack a “crystal clear concept” for mobility

Many cities are now focusing more on the needs of non-drivers when planning their traffic.

But they lacked holistic ideas, criticizes the Germany boss at Park Now.

Berlin - The Germany boss of the parking space search app Park Now, Heidi Wildemann, misses a comprehensive mobility and parking concept in many municipalities and cities. “A lot of things are tried,” she told the German press agency. “But there is no clear, clear concept.” Cities and municipalities tried very fragmentedly, for example, to convert the car parking space for other means of transport such as scooters or cargo bikes, but also for pedestrians. It is often not taken into account that there is still a lot of parking traffic that cities have to cope with.

“In the medium term, it is impossible to imagine inner cities without the car,” said Wildemann.

Individual traffic even increased during the Corona * crisis.

Therefore, more parking garages are an option.

They would help to reduce and focus the traffic looking for parking, while freeing up space on the roadside.

"But relatively little is done there," criticized Wildemann.

More parking garages could therefore also be built in the outskirts of large cities and linked there with local public transport.

Park & ​​Ride offers such as those in and around Munich could also relieve the inner cities of car traffic.

"Especially in the outskirts, it is not possible for many people to do without the car," said Wildemann.

Cities rededicate road space - ADFC: "Most municipalities do not yet have a concept for how they can make traffic fit for the future"

With the Park Now app, drivers can pay for their parking space digitally.

In addition, based on collected traffic data, the app shows where and at what time there is a high probability of finding a free parking space.

The company has so far been part of the Your Now group of the two car manufacturers Daimler and BMW *.

A few weeks ago the sale to the Swedish competitor Easy Park became known.

The competition authorities still have to approve the step.

In order to reduce climate-damaging car traffic, especially in inner cities, larger cities in particular have started to rededicate road space.

In Berlin, for example, the Senate converted numerous parking lanes into cycle paths at short notice, established car-free zones and is planning more.

The ADFC shares Wildemann's criticism.

"It is true that most of the municipalities still have no concept of how they can make traffic fit for the future," said traffic expert Stephanie Krone.

"Roughly speaking, the whole of Germany has to halve car traffic and double bike, foot and public transport in order to achieve the climate goals and bring quality of life back to the cities." For cars, solutions off the roadside have to be found.

Parking garages for cars and bicycles as important components for future concepts

"The valuable space on the road is used for more important things than for large-volume private vehicles that sometimes just stand around for days," emphasized Krone.

Street parking must be restricted and made more expensive.

Parking garages not only for cars but also for bicycles are therefore important components of such future concepts.

Many existing parking garages in the cities would be empty.

"If street parking is curbed, the mostly sparsely used parking garages will fill up automatically - and you will even need new so-called neighborhood garages."

(Dpa) * Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.

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