City councilors are discussing the lack of parking spaces in Dachau's old town: they have reached the "minimum".

Created: 01/14/2022 07:47

By: Stefanie Zipfer

In the past few months, numerous parking spaces have disappeared from Dachau's old town, such as here in Augsburger Straße.

Some councilors don't see that as a problem, others do.

© Norbert Habschied

The administration can continue to decide independently and at short notice on the removal of parking spaces in the lower and upper inner city area.

While the mayor defends the previous parking strategy of his administration, ÜB city councilor Peter Gampenrieder warns: "We have reached the minimum!"

Dachau – Last July, the local newspaper reported on the gradual loss of parking spaces in the old town under the headline “Unbureaucratic parking space removal”. The article stated that some of the abolished parking spaces were based on decisions by the city council: one involved converting a pedestrian crossing, in another case electric charging stations were to be installed, and in a third case a general parking space had to make way for a disabled parking space.

In many cases, however, the administration decided independently as part of its so-called ongoing business whether to remove the parking spaces. For example, because construction sites had to be regulated, events were coming up or - like last spring - the local gastronomy was to be supported by generously providing additional outdoor areas in their business.

As reported, the CSU was upset about this procedure. And the ÜB/FDP representatives poured their indignation into an application: In the future, Peter Gampenrieder, Ingrid Sedlbauer and Jürgen Seidl demanded, "all decisions about the removal of public parking spaces should be made by the responsible city council committee". Because, as Gampenrieder said on Tuesday in the environment and transport committee: "We have to make sure that a minimum of parking spaces is reserved". Of course there are always “individual reasons” why a parking space is deleted. But if there are even fewer parking spaces in the future, "we'll have a problem with the business people". The "proliferation of decisions", said Gampenrieder on behalf of his ÜB/FDP parliamentary group, "we do not like"!

Mayor Florian Hartmann did not want to let the word "wild growth" sit on him: One is far from arbitrariness or "wild growth"!

Otherwise, the mayor repeated the arguments he had already put forward in the summer: generosity towards the catering establishments was explicitly desired by the state government.

And having every parking space decision approved by the city council in the future would firstly mean more administrative work, but secondly also more time.

Hartmann was supported by Michael Eisenmann (Bündnis): parking spaces in the old town should not be given top priority, because: “We have enough parking spaces!” The Thomawiese and the old town parking garage are usually not fully occupied.

Thomas Kreß (Greens) asked his colleagues from the CSU, who had previously complained about the traffic of buses in the old town on the agenda item: "How attractive is it when the old town is full of parked cars?" Attractive for him if " there is room for people".

If there is no parking space, "that's not the biggest problem".

Dennis Behrendt (SPD) worried that Gampenrieder's application contained "bad faith".

In his opinion, the administration always decided “with sensitivity and expertise” about the parking space deletion and “created added value”.

Mayor Hartmann's question to his critics, "How would you have decided?" no longer had to be answered.

ÜB/FDP and CSU were outvoted.

In future, too, the administration will be able to decide on the removal of public parking spaces as part of its ongoing business.

Only in the case of measures “with a major impact” does the environment and transport committee need to be consulted.