Parking: Parking space concept for the city centre

The further development of the city centre (e.g. Johanniskirchplatz, car park at DASTietz, parts of the Getreidemarkt) will result in the loss of over 1,000 parking spaces in the near future, most of which are managed. As a result, competition for parking spaces between residents, customers, employees and service providers in the city centre will increase further.

The PSC identifies approaches to mitigate the competition for use and utilise the parking space as effectively as possible. In detail, the PSC pursues the following objectives:

• Strengthening the city centre as the focal point of the city, as a business and retail location and as a residential location. Priority is given to visitors, customers, service providers, commercial traffic and city centre residents.
• In order to secure and improve their parking opportunities, consistent management of all parking spaces in conjunction with resident parking is required. In this way, the available parking spaces are made accessible to all users and conflicts of use are reduced in terms of space and/or time. People in the city centre should have the opportunity to find a free parking space for their errands at any time.
• Ensure that residents can find and use a parking space by increasing the resident parking zones and thus the number of potential parking spaces.
• Standardisation and simplification of parking space management: Instead of a multitude of regulations, in future there will be large management districts in which mixed parking with mandatory charges will generally be in place. Parking will be permitted either with a valid parking ticket or with a resident parking permit. In principle, the areas managed in this way will therefore be open to all users equally, unlike in the past.
• Reduction of parking pressure by increasing the size of the managed neighbourhoods and thus the number of potentially usable parking spaces.
• Minimisation of traffic searching for parking spaces and increased effectiveness, as the same rules apply throughout the city centre and therefore the search for a free or cheaper parking space is no longer necessary and the available parking spaces are used more evenly across the board. At the same time, noise and exhaust pollution in the city centre will be reduced.
• See also answer to question (9).

The public parking spaces in the city centre are managed uniformly and across the board with mixed parking, i.e. residents' parking and other parking together, in two charging zones. Priority is given to visitors, customers, service providers, commercial traffic and residents.

The management of parking spaces in the PSC, i.e. the paid use of parking spaces, takes place in parking charge zone I from Monday to Friday from 08:00 to 20:00 and on Saturday from 08:00 to 14:00. In parking charge zone II, parking spaces are managed from Monday to Friday from 08:00 to 18:00 and on Saturdays from 08:00 to 12:00. At these times there is high parking pressure and considerable competition for use, which is to be controlled and reduced with the PSC.

Between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. and on Sundays and public holidays there is no management, as there is hardly any parking pressure and no significant competition for use at these times.

The amount of the parking charges depends on the charging zone:

The PSC was adopted by the City Council in 2017 (see question 7).

The first stage (districts A, B and F) has been in force since 1 June 2021 and is being introduced in stages. The implementation is expected to be completed by September 2021. During this introductory phase, the regulations signposted on site will apply.

Stages 2 (neighbourhoods C, D and E) and 3 (neighbourhoods G and H) will be implemented over the next few years.

Parking space management is based on the Road Traffic Act (StVG, in particular §6a, paragraphs 5a to 7) and must be justified with traffic-relevant arguments. The technical basis for the PSC was prepared by the Berlin engineering firm LK Argus and can be viewed in the City of Chemnitz's council information system (see question 7).

Two conditions must be met simultaneously for sensible parking space management: high parking pressure and competition between different user groups for free parking spaces (e.g. residents, customers and employees). Both conditions are met in the city centre area, meaning that parking space management is legally permissible and makes sense from a transport planning perspective.

The PSC was developed by resolution of the City Council(BA-016/2015) from 2015 and adopted by resolution of the City Council(B-157/2016) in 2017.

In addition, the City of Chemnitz's parking fee regulations were adopted by resolution of the City Council(B-260/2016).

There are various reasons for the expansion of the car park management area:

• Parking space management creates a "domino effect" with the displacement of long-term parkers into unmanaged areas. This increases the parking pressure in the affected areas to the detriment of residents and local businesses.
  Comprehensive parking space management in the city centre avoids the "domino effect" in the city centre. Minor displacement effects are to be expected at the neighbourhood boundaries, although these will be very small due to the strong orientation of the relevant traffic flows towards the city centre.
• Commuters will be motivated by the mandatory charge to consider existing mobility alternatives (public transport, cycling, carpooling, etc.) and to change their traffic behaviour (at least on a daily basis). This is intended to support the further development of personal mobility behaviour as a contribution to global environmental and climate protection.
• When parking motor vehicles in public car parks, a traffic area is used to park a vehicle that is temporarily not in use. The spaces in question are withdrawn from further use for the duration of the parking process and therefore generate no further added value.
• In addition, public parking space is severely limited in the absence of additional spaces in dense urban areas and can hardly be expanded. Even if it could be expanded, an expansion of public parking space capacities would be counterproductive from a transport planning perspective with regard to the transport policy goal of significantly strengthening the environmental alliance (walking, cycling, public transport, shared mobility) as a contribution to the transport transition. In this respect, parking also needs to be valorised from this perspective, expressed as a monetary amount for the use of a limited resource. In this way, the available parking space is used more rationally and efficiently by users (balanced ratio between parking space supply and parking space demand).

This frequently put forward argument falls short of the mark.

The accessibility of the city centre by car is still ensured at a high level, also for employees and commuters. Over 5,000 usable public car parking spaces will continue to be available.

Cities in which public car park management has already been in place for some time report contrasting experiences:

• Parking space management effectively displaces long-term parkers, the parking spaces are released again after a shorter period of time and customers are more frequently provided with parking spaces directly at the shop. This improves the accessibility of retailers and businesses. There are then often calls for parking space management to be extended - by the retailers/businesses themselves!
• Studies show that car-driving customers are important for retailers, but that foot traffic is significantly more important: people who walk from one shop to the next in a relaxed atmosphere and attractively designed neighbourhoods tend to spend more money in more shops. Ultimately, all shops in a neighbourhood benefit from this, as the number of customers gradually increases.
  Considerable advantages are seen with regard to the city centre: The proximity of a wide variety of shops and services to each other creates a high potential for attracting customers, which is much less influenced by parking fees than is communicated by certain stakeholders. And strolling in public spaces creates social contacts, which in turn helps to extend the length of stay and increase the use of services in the neighbourhood in question.

Comprehensive parking management in the city centre is associated with increased expenses for the City of Chemnitz. These can be covered by the expected income (parking fees and fees for residents' parking permits), so that parking management remains cost-effective.

The City of Chemnitz does not assume that it will be able to generate significantly higher income after the implementation of the PSC (stages 1 to 3) than in previous years. As in the past, parking management primarily serves to regulate stationary traffic in the interests of strengthening the city centre.

No. According to federal regulations, resident parking permits can only be issued to residents within a resident parking zone. Residents in this sense are only those persons who live within the area boundaries and are registered there (registration address on the ID card). Otherwise, the parking zone would be inadmissibly extended for additional vehicles to the detriment of other road users and the residents of the parking zone.

Yes, the management neighbourhoods are generally available to all users.

Resident parking permits are only valid for the respective management neighbourhood issued. When parking in another management district, a parking ticket must be purchased during the management times (see question (4)).

It should also be noted that resident parking does not guarantee residents the right to their "own parking space". The maximum extension of a residents' parking area may not exceed 1,000 metres. This area is considered reasonable according to the Administrative Regulation on Road Traffic Regulations (VwV-StVO). The PSC provides for the designation of larger management neighbourhoods, so that no deterioration in the situation is to be expected, although longer distances may result in individual cases.

Severely disabled persons with a parking permit may park free of charge in the mixed-use areas, provided there is no other parking facility within a reasonable distance. The maximum permitted parking time is 24 hours.

In resident-only parking areas (e.g. Bahnhofstraße, Getreidemarkt), the parking time for severely disabled persons with a parking permit is limited to 3 hours.

Jobs in the city centre of Chemnitz are of particular importance and must be secured. However, no claim can be derived from this that parking spaces at the place of work must be provided by the public, i.e. the City of Chemnitz, and free of charge. Nor does the fact that this has been practised in the past give rise to any entitlement to continuation.

First and foremost, the respective employers are responsible for meeting the parking space requirements of their employees. If this is not possible, parking spaces on the street can be used, provided they are available. And this is where the competition for use with residents, customers and service providers in the city centre arises. Parking spaces that are occupied by commuters throughout the day cannot be used by other users (see question (2)).

The PSC is intended to adequately reward commuters for the exclusive use of a parking space over a comparatively long period of time. For this purpose, a daily fee of up to 17.50 euros will be charged in parking fee zone I and a maximum daily fee of 2.50 euros in parking fee zone II (see question (4)).

The management is intended to incentivise commuters to use other means of transport. Workplaces in the city centre are often easy to reach on foot, by bicycle and/or by public transport (environmental network). Nevertheless, these modes of transport are sometimes underused because, among other things, free parking favours the use of cars. Paid parking in the city centre will reduce this imbalance and shift some of the commuter traffic to eco-mobility.

In addition, commuters who are predominantly/exclusively dependent on the use of a car should be given an incentive to use private car parks, underground car parks and parking facilities on a permanent basis in order to increase the frequency of use of public parking spaces and thus ensure or improve the accessibility of the city centre. It is known that charges must also be paid in private car parks. However, users of such facilities have the advantage that a parking space is guaranteed and possibly also a cost advantage compared to monthly parking fees in public spaces.

No. Parking permits can only be issued to residents. Residents in this sense are only those persons who live within the area boundaries and are registered there (see questions 4 and 11).

Tradespeople, companies and administrations are not entitled to a resident parking permit in accordance with § 45 Para. 1b No. 2 StVO in conjunction with the associated administrative regulation. A parking ticket must always be purchased for vehicles from commercial enterprises, companies and administrations that park in public car parks.

Parking space management applies between 08.00 and 20.00 / 18.00 (see question 4).
In this respect, parking space management does not result in any changes for many parents / grandparents / guardians when dropping off their children in the morning.

The following regulation applies within the parking management times (e.g. when dropping off after 8.00 a.m. and when picking up): In car park management areas, parking in public car parks for the purpose of dropping off and picking up is free of charge.
This means that parents/grandparents/guardians can park free of charge in the immediate vicinity of the crèche/kindergarten for the short period of time needed to pick up/drop off their child/children. If it takes longer (e.g. parents' meeting, parties, etc.), the corresponding parking fee must be paid.

In the event of a warning, proof must be provided to the public order office that the child/children have been brought or collected from a crèche/kindergarten.