As of: February 15, 2024, 9:21 p.m
By: Bettina Menzel
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Anyone who drives large cars now has to dig deeper into their pockets in Koblenz.
Residential parking will be significantly more expensive from March 1st.
The regulation doesn’t just apply to SUVs.
Koblenz - After a referendum, the French capital Paris recently drastically increased parking fees for heavy SUVs: one hour of parking costs 18 euros, six hours 225 euros.
Hanover's mayor Belit Onay (Greens) also expressed sympathy for this idea, but the city of Koblenz apparently beat him to it.
From March 1st, 6,000 resident parking permits in the central residential areas of the Rhineland-Palatinate city will become more expensive - owners will have to dig significantly deeper into their pockets, especially to park large cars.
Higher parking fees for big cars in Koblenz – but different than in Paris
In the future, the amount of the parking fee in Koblenz will depend on the street space actually used, according to a statement from the city administration at the beginning of February.
Anyone who parks their car in the center of Koblenz in the future will have to calculate the parking fee: The regulation, which will apply from March 1, 2024, provides for a basic annual amount of 23.40 euros, which in turn depends on the respective length and width of the vehicle in meters needs to be multiplied.
“The values entered in the vehicle registration certificate are decisive for this.
Additions to vehicles such as spoilers, bicycle racks and exterior mirrors are not taken into account,” said the city of Koblenz.
Higher parking fees for large cars?
The French capital Paris has already implemented this, and from March 1st the regulation will also apply in Koblenz (symbolic image).
© Imago/Dirk Sattler
Accordingly, resident parking for a Smart “fortwo” would cost 104.87 euros for a year, which is less than nine euros per month.
A 7 Series VW Golf costs 179.12 euros per year, and a compact SUV VW Tiguan costs 196.23 euros per year.
“In principle, the Koblenz city administration has set a minimum fee of 100 euros in its resident parking fee regulations,” the statement continues.
This means that the regulation in Rhineland-Palatinate differs from that in France.
In Koblenz, residents themselves pay the higher fees, while in Paris visitors are asked to pay more.
SUV with poor environmental performance and greater danger to pedestrians
Cars are getting bigger and bigger in this country.
According to critics, SUVs cause increased environmental pollution, take up a lot of public space and endanger road safety.
A study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety in the US recently found that larger cars, SUVs and minibuses are more likely to be involved in fatal accidents involving pedestrians than other car models.
Due to their size, off-road vehicles also require more fuel and therefore cause more damage to the environment.
Globally, SUVs emitted almost a billion tons of CO₂ in 2022, according to a study by the International Energy Agency.
German Environmental Aid is therefore calling for higher parking fees for SUVs.
Debate about parking fees: “Don’t tell people what car they can drive”
But Germans have a very special relationship with their cars.
This is made clear, among other things, by the mostly emotional debate about a speed limit on German motorways.
A measure that has long been standard in other European countries and would save energy, protect the environment and avoid traffic fatalities in one fell swoop.
But the ADAC slogan “Free Travel for Free Citizens” from the 1970s still applies today: many people in this country equate racing along the streets as quickly as possible in their own car with individual freedom.
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The same apparently applies to the choice of car.
The general manager of the Association of Cities and Municipalities, André Berghegger, told the dpa that “parking fees should not dictate to people which car they are allowed to drive.”
In any case, the city of Koblenz avoided the evocative word SUV in its announcement and only referred to the size and width of the cars.